HD 


IC-NRLF 


WAGES  AND  REGULARITY 
OF  EMPLOYMENT 

IN    THE 

DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY 
OF  NEW   YORK  CITY 


BY 


NAHUM  I.  STONE,  M.  A. 


SUBMITTED  IN  PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS 

FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY. 

IN   THE 

FACULTY  OF  POLITICAL  SCIENCE 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


gorfe 
1915 


WAGES  AND  REGULARITY 
OF   EMPLOYMENT 

IN    THE 

DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY 
OF  NEW   YORK  CITY 


BY 

NAHUM  I.  STONE,  M.  A. 


SUBMITTED  IN  PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS 
FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY. 

IN    THE 

FACULTY  OF  POLITICAL  SCIENCE 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


Jieto 
1915 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 
Part  I. — Wages  and  regularity  of  employment  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry 

of  New  York  City 7-187 

Introduction  and  summary 7-19 

Effect  of  the  protocol  on  wages 9-16 

Wages  in  association  and  nonassociation  union  shops 9-12 

Wages  of  week  workers  provided  for  in  the  protocol 12-15 

Wages  of  week  workers  not  provided  for  in  the  protocol 15, 16 

Earnings  of  pieceworkers 16 

Effect  of  the  protocol  on  hours  of  work 16-18 

All  shops  combined 16, 17 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops 17, 18 

Regularity  of  employment 18,19 

Effect  of  the  protocol  on  subcontracting 19 

Scope  of  the  investigation 20-22 

Comparison  of  association  and  nonassociation  union  shops 22-26 

Number  of  workers  in  different  occupations 26-30 

Week  work  and  piecework 30-39 

Extent  in  different  occupations 30-34 

Relation  of  sex  to  week  work  and  piecework 34,  35 

Relative  advantages  of  week  work  and  piecework 35,  36 

Extent  of  week  work  and  piecework  prior  to  the  protocol 36-39 

Wages • 39-43 

Method  of  obtaining  wage  data 39,  40 

Method  of  presentation  of  wage  data 40-43 

Operators 43-104 

Occupations  of  operators 43,  44 

Number  and  classes  covered  by  the  report 44 

Wages  of  operators 44-68 

Comparison  of  wages  of  men  and  women  operators  in  the  industry 

as  a  whole 45-48 

Comparison  of  'wages  of  men  and  women  operators  in  association 

and  nonassociation  shops 49-53 

Comparison  of  wages  of  men  and  women  operators  in  shops  making 

cheap  and  high-grade  garments 53-63 

Comparison  of  wages  in  1912  and  1913 63-68 

Buttonhole  makers 68-70 

Button  sewers 70,  71 

Closers  and  hemmers 71-73 

Dressmakers 73-75 

Hemstitchers 75-77 

Lace  runners : 77,  78 

Sample  makers 79,  80 

Skirt  operators 80-83 

Sleeve  makers : : 83-85 

Sleeve  setters 85-87 

Trimmers 87-89 

Tuckers 90-93 

Waist  operators 93-99 

Operators,  not  specified..  .  99-104 

311463 


4  CONTENTS. 

Part  I.— Wages  and  regularity  of  employment  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry 
of  New  York  City— Concluded.  page. 

Employees  other  than  operators 104-145 

Assorters 104, 105 

Cleaners r 106-109 

Cutters 109-115 

Drapers 115-120 

Embroiderers 120-123 

Examiners 123-126 

Finishers 126-132 

Ironers  and  pressers 132-141 

Joiners 141-143 

Markers 143,144 

Slopers .' 145 

Subcontracting  and  partnership 145-157 

Advantages  of  subcontracting  to  manufacturers 146, 147 

Disadvantages  of  subcontracting ; 147, 148 

Decline  of  subcontracting ; 148 

Size  of  sets 149-152 

Sex  of  workers  in  sets 152-154 

Earnings  of  sets 154-157 

Regularity  of  employment 157-176 

Seasonal  rise  and  fall  in  number  of  employees  and  in  wages 162-172 

Employment  among  week  workers  and  pieceworkers 172-176 

Hours  of  labor 176-181 

Hours  during  busiest  week  in  the  year 176, 177 

Overtime : 177-180 

Hours  of  work  of  pieceworkers 180, 181 

Conclusion 181-187 

Graduated  scale  of  weekly  wages 182, 183 

Registration  of  apprentices 183 

Trade  school 184 

Uniform  pay  roll 185 

White  protocol  label 185, 186 

Uniform  piece  rates 186, 187 

Part  II.— Standardization  of  piece  rates 189-308 

Adjustment  of  piece  rates  under  the  protocol 189, 190 

Scope  of  the  investigation 190-193 

Basis  for  piece-rate  compensation 193-197 

Tucking 197-216 

Strip  tucking 198-206 

Chiffons  versus  cotton 201-204 

Singer  4-needle  machine 205 

Singer  5-needle  machine 205 

Singer  8-needle  machine 206 

Short  tucking 206-216 

Wilcox  and  Gibbs  machine 208-211 

Double  tucks 211,  212 

Single-needle  Singer  machine 213 

Short  tucking  on  a  multiple-needle  Singer  machine 213-216 

Lace  running 217-222 

Lace  on  top 218 

Cloth  on  top 218 

Joining  lace  to  lace 218-222 

Joining  voile  and  net  strips 222 


CONTENTS.  5 

Part  II.— Standardization  of  piece  rates— Concluded. 

Lace  running — Concluded.  Page. 

Joining  ruffled  lace  edging  to  lace  insertion 222 

Joining  lace  to  sleeves . 222 

Hemming 222-225 

Closing 226-230 

Closing  sides  and  sleeves 229,  230 

Closing  sides .' 229,  230 

Closing  sleeves * 230 

Sleeve  setting  by  sleeve  setters 230-233 

Buttonhole  making. 233-244 

Singer  machine -.....-. 233-243 

Number  of  buttonholes  to  a  waist 234-240 

Size  of  buttonholes 240 

Material 241 

Size  of  the  bundle 1 241-243 

Reece  machine 243,  244 

Button  sewing 244-249 

Flat  pearl  buttons 244-248 

Crochet  buttons 248,  249 

Body  making 249-284 

Joining  parts  of  shoulders  with  lace  beading  between  them 251,  252 

Joining  yokes  to  fronts  or  backs  with  insertions 252,  253 

Joining  yoke  beading  to  backs 254 

Joining  yokes  with  lace  beading  to  open  fronts  or  backs,  with  a 

shirred  seam 255,  256 

•    Joining  yoke  sleeves  to  fronts  or  backs  with  beading  between 256,  257 

Joining  parts  of  back  with  French  seam,  forming  tuck  at  the  same 

time. 257,  258 

Joining  side  pieces  to  fronts. 258 

Joining  lace  to  standing  collars 259,  260 

Joining  ' '  little  skirts  "  to  waists . 260-266 

Centers . 267-270 

Ruffles  and  centers 271-273 

Vests  and  flies 273-275 

Tacking  fronts  and  backs 276,  277 

Shirring 278,279 

Setting  high  collars 279,  280 

Sleeve  setting  by  body  makers 280-282 

Joining  belts  to  waists 282-284 

Loss  of  time „ 284-292 

Conclusion 293-298 

Appendix  A.— Protocol  of  peace  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry 299-304 

Appendix  B. — List  of  firms  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry  of  Greater  New 

York  covered  by  this  report .  305-308 


LIST  OF  CHARTS. 

Chart  1. — Proportion  of  association  and  nonassociation  shops  in  the  industry, 
of  employees  in  each  class  of  shops,  by  sex,  and  of  week  workers  and  piece 
workers  among  operators,  1913 10 

Chart  2. — Wages  of  female  operators  in  association  and  nonassociation  shops, 
1913:  Per  cent  of  week  workers  receiving  each  classified  weekly  rate  and  of 
pieceworkers  earning  each  classified  amount  during  busiest  week 52 


6  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Chart  3. — Wages  of  female  operators  (week  workers)  in  association  and  non- 
association  shops  making  low  and  high  grade  garments,  1913:  Per  cent  receiv- 
ing each  classified  weekly  wage  rate  and  over 

Chart  4. — Wages  of  female  operators  (pieceworkers)  in  association  and  nonasso- 
ciation  shops  making  low  and  high  grade  garments,  1913:  Per  cent  earning 
each  classified  amount  and  over  during  busiest  week 60 

Chart  5. — Wages  of  male  and  female  operators  in  association  shops  making  low 
and  high  grade  garments,  1913:  Per  cent  of  week  workers  receiving  each 
classified  weekly  rate  and  of  pieceworkers  earning  each  classified  amount 
during  busiest  week 62 

Chart  6. — Wages  of  female  operators  (week  workers)  in  association  and  non- 
association  shops,  1912  and  1913:  Per  cent  receiving  each  classified  weekly 
rate..... 65 

Chart?. — Wages  of  female  operators  (pieceworkers)  in  association  and  non- 
association  shops,  1912  and  1913:  Per  cent  earning  each  classified  amount 
during  busiest  week  of  each  year 67 

Charts. — Per  cent  of  sample  makers,  female  (week  workers),  receiving  each 
classified  rate  of  wages  per  week,  1912  and  1913 81 

Chart  9. — Per  cent  of  cleaners,  female  (week  workers),  receiving  each  classified 
rate  of  wages  per  week,  1912  and  1913 107 

Chart  10. — Per  cent  of  cutters  (week  workers)  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 
wages  per  week,  1912  and  1913 116 

Chart  11. — Per  cent  of  drapers  (week  workers)  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 
wages  per  week,  1912  and  1913 119 

Chart  12. — Per  cent  of  examiners  (week  workers)  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 
wages  per  week,  1912  and  1913 127 

Chart  13. — Per  cent  of  finishers  (week  workers)  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 
wages  per  week,  1912  and  1913 130 

Chart  14. — Per  cent  of  ironers,  female  (week  workers),  receiving  each  classified 
rate  of  wages  per  week,  1912  and  1913 136 

Chart  15. — Percent  of  pressers  and  ironers,  male  (week  workers),  receiving  each 
classified  rate  of  wages  per  week,  1912  and  1913 137 

Chart  16. — Per  cent  of  joiners,  female  (week  workers),  receiving  each  classified 
rate  of  wages  per  week,  1912  and  1913 144 

Chart  17. — Seasonal  fluctuations  of  employment  and  wages  in  whole  industry 
and  in  6  high-grade  shops,  1912 163 

Chart  18. — Seasonal  fluctuations  of  wages  in  6  low-grade  shops,  6  high-grade 
shops,  and  the  whole  industry,  1912 169 

Chart  19. — Seasonal  fluctuations  of  employment  in  6  low-grade  shops,  6  high- 
grade  shops,  and  the  whole  industry,  1912 170 


[This  report  was  prepared  for  and  under  the  direction  of  the  Wage- 
Scale  Board  of  the  Dress  and  Waist  Industry,  by  N.  I.  Stone, 
Chief  Statistician.] 


BULLETIN    OF   THE 
U.  S.  BUREAU  OF  LABOR  STATISTICS. 


WHOLE  NO.  146,  WASHINGTON.  APRIL  28,  1914. 

WAGES  AND  REGULARITY  OF  EMPLOYMENT  AND 
STANDARDIZATION  OF  PIECE  RATES  IN  THE  DRESS 
AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY.1 

BY    N.    I.    STOXE. 

PART  I.— WAGES  AND  REGULARITY  OF  EMPLOYMENT. 
INTRODUCTION  AND  SUMMARY. 

The  investigation  covered  by  the  present  report  was  made  under 
the  direction  of  the  wage-scale  board  in  compliance  with  the  provi- 
sions of  article  8  of  the  protocol  of  peace  entered  into  on  January  18, 
1913,  between  the  International  Ladies'  Garment  Workers'  Union 
and  the  Dress  and  Waist  Manufacturers'  Association.  Article  8 
calls  for  "a  complete  and  exhaustive  examination  into  the  existing 
rates  paid  for  labor,  the  earnings  of  the  operatives,  and  the  classifi- 
cation of  garments  in  the  industry." 

,  The  investigation  was  started  at  the  end  of  March  and  completed 
in  August,  but  the  presentation  of  the  report  and  of  the  summary  of 
the  findings  has  been  delayed  until  the  present  time,  owing  to  the 
necessity  of  taking  up  the  second  investigation  ordered  by  the  wage- 
scale  board  under  the  provision  of  article  7  of  the  protocol,  "with 
a  view  to  establishing  as  nearly  practicably  as  possible  a  scientific 
basis  for  the  fixing  of  piece  and  week-work  prices  throughout  the 
industry." 

As  this  new  investigation,  requiring  the  timing  of  various  opera- 
tions in  the  manufacture  of  dresses  and  waists,  could  be  carried  on 
only  while  the  factories  were  busy  and  as  the  fall  season  is  very 
short,  it  was  necessary  to  concentrate  all  efforts  on  that  work  and 
to  postpone  the  writing  of  the  report  as  to  the  first  investigation 

1  The  author  is  under  obligations  to  the  o.Ticers  of  the  wage-scale  board,  particularly  Mr.  I.  B.  Hyman, 
chairman  of  the  board,  and  Mr.  S.  Polakoff,  chief  clerk  of  the  board  for  the  union,  for  assistance  ren- 
dered; also  to  Mr.  A.  II.  G.  Baron,  Mr.  Sigmund  Haiman,  and  Miss  Eva  JoSe  of  the  staff  of  the  board. 


8  BULLETIN   OF    THE  ^BUREAU   OF   LABOK  STATISTICS. 

until  after  the  Vlosi/ig  b!  ths'falV  season.  The  results  of  the  second 
investigation,  dealing  with  the  standardization  of  piece  rates,  will  be 
reported  separately. 

The  investigation  constituting  the  subject  of  this  report  covered 
520  shops  employing  about  31,500  people  (not  counting  designers, 
foremen,  forewomen,  packers,  and  office  force)  who  constituted  nearly 
nine-tenths  of  all  the  workers  known  to  be  employed  in  the  dress 
and  waist  industry  in  Greater  New  York.  Of  the  520  shops,  289  were 
association  shops  and  231  nonassociation  shops  having  individual 
agreements  with  the  union  identical  with  the  protocol  in  so  far  as 
wages  and  hours  were  concerned. 

Although  the  number  of  the  nonassociation  union  shops  was  not 
much  less  than  that  of  association  shops,  they  employed  only  6,690 
people  as  against  24,795  in  the  association  shops.  This  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  most  of  the  association  shops  are  large,  while  most  of 
the  nonassociation  shops  are  small.  With  few  exceptions,  it  may  be 
said  that  all  the  large  and  important  shops  of  the  industry  are  affili- 
ated, with  the  association  and  subject  to  the  conditions  of  work  pre- 
scribed in  the  protocol.  The  two  groups  combined  employ  about 
nine-tenths  of  all  the  workers  engaged  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry 
of  Greater  New  York,  leaving  only  about  one-tenth  of  the  workers  to 
the  200-odd  nonassociation  nonunion  shops. 

The  investigation  disclosed  the  fact  that  more  than  $9,300,000  was 
paid  out  in  wages  in  1912  in  shops  employing  20,524  workers  in  the 
busiest  week  of  that  year,  the  busiest  week  as  used  here  and  elsewhere 
throughout  the  text  of  this  report,  unless  otherwise  noted,  meaning 
the  week  in  which  the  maximum  number  of  persons  were  employed. 
From  this  it  is  estimated  that  the  total  wages  paid  to  nearly  37,000 
workers  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry  of  Greater  New  York  in 
1913  exceeded  $17,000,000  and  represented  an  output  of  dresses 
and  waists  of  a  wholesale  market  value  of  close  to  $100,000,000.* 

Of  the  29,439  persons  found  working  in  the  dress  and  waist  shops 
in  1913  whose  sex  and  occupation  were  ascertained,  24,728  were 
women  and  4,711  were  men,  making  the  proportion  of  women  to 
men  over  5  to  1,  or,  putting  it  in  a  percentage  form,  84  per  cent  of 
all  the  employees  were  women  and  16  per  cent  were  men.  Of  the 
16,418  operators,  13,993  were  women  and  2,425  were  men,  making  the 
proportion  of  men  and  women  practically  the  same  as  above.  Some 
of  the  occupations  outside  of  operating  are  almost  entirely  monopo- 
lized by  women,  while  others  are  filled  exclusively  by  men.  Among 
those  in  which  women  are  exclusively  or  almost  exclusively  employed 
are  assorters,  cleaners,  embroiderers,  examiners,  finishers,  drapers,  and 

i  For  an  explanation  of  this  estimate  see  pages  20, 21 . 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.          9 

joiners.  Among  the  ironcrs — i.  e.,  those  working  with  a  light  iron — 
the  number  of  women  is  about  twice  -as  large  as  that  of  men.  Press- 
ers,  meaning  those  who  work  with  a  heavy  iron,  are  exclusively  men; 
so  also  are  the  cutters. 

The  following  statement  gives  a  summary  of  the  employees  covered 
by  the  investigation  according  to  sex  and  showing  the  number 
employed  in  association  or  nonassociation  shops.  It  also  shows  the 
number  of  operators  of  each  sex  employed  as  week  workers  and  as 
pieceworkers.  These  figures  include  only  employees  for  whom  sex 
and  occupation  were  ascertained : 

Shops . 520 

Association 289 

Nonassociation - 231 

Persons  employed 29,  439 

In  association  shops 23,  304 

Females....." 19,773 

Males : 3,  531 

In  nonassociation  shops 6, 135 

Females 4,  955 

Males 1, 180 

Total  females. 24,  728 

Total  males 4,711 

Operators  employed 16,  418 

Females 13,  993 

Week  workers 6,  936 

Pieceworkers 7, 057 

Males 2,  425 

Week  workers 917 

Pieceworkers 1,  508 

Total  week  workers. ." _ 7,  853 

Total  pieceworkers 8,  565 

The  accompanying  chart  (No.  1)  shows  in  graphic  form  the  figures 
just  presented,  together  with  corresponding  percentages. 

EFFECT  OF  THE  PROTOCOL  ON  WAGES. 

WAGES  IN  ASSOCIATION  AND  NONASSOCIATION  UNION  SHOPS. 

In  summing  up  the  results  of  the  investigation,  the  most  salient 
as  well  as  the  most  important  fact  alike  to  the  employers  and  the 
employees  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry  is  the  general  increase  in 
wages  in  practically  every  branch  of  the  industry  and  every  occupa- 
tion in  which  its  workers  are  engaged.  The  increase  took  place  in 
association  as  well  as  in  nonassociation  union  shops.  In  some  cases 
the  increase  is  more  pronounced  in  association  shops,  in  others  in  the 
nonassociation  shops.  As  a  rule,  the  difference  in  wages  as  between 
these  two  classes  of  shops  has  been  found  to  be  determined  not  by 
the  affiliation  or  nonaffiliation  of  the  shops  with  the  association,  but 


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WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.       11 

by  the  character  of  the  goods  manufactured.  Shops  making  the 
better  grade  of  garments  require  workers  of  higher  skill,  who  naturally 
command  higher  rates  of  wages  than  the  less  skilled  workers  employed 
in  the,  shops  making  cheap  garments.  The  group  of  shops  making 
cheaper  garments  is  designated  in  this  report  by  the  letter  A  and 
those  making  the  higher-grade  garments  by  the  letter  B.  The 
general  rule  found  to  prevail  with  regard  to  wages  is  that  the  asso- 
ciation and  nonassociation  union  shops  in  the  B  groups  pay  higher 
wages  than  the  association  and  nonassociation  A  shops.  Unless  this 
fact  is  borne  in  mind,  one  can  just  as  easily  prove  that  the  association 
shops  pay  higher  wages  than  the  nonassociation  by  comparing  asso- 
ciation B  with  nonassociation  A  shops,  as  the  contrary  fact,  namely, 
that  the  nonassociation  union  shops  pay  higher  wages  than  the 
association  shops  by  comparing  the  nonassociation  union  B  with  the 
association  A  shops.  In  other  words,  association  B  shops  pay  higher 
wages  than  association  A  or  nonassociation  A  shops;  nonassociation  B 
shops  pay  generally  higher  wages  than  association  A  or  nonassociation 
A  shops.  When,  however,  we  compare  association  B  with  non- 
association  B,  or  association  A  with  nonassociation  A  shops,  there  is  no 
general  rule,  sometimes  one,  sometimes  the  other  paying  higher  wages, 
the  difference  between  the  two  being  comparatively  small.  Thus 
the  wages  of  cleaners  have  been  found  to  be  higher  in  the  nonassocia- 
tion A  than  in  the  association  A  shops,  and  in  turn  higher  in  association 
A  than  in  association  B  shops.  This  is  due,  as  explained  elsewhere 
in  the  report,  to  the  fact  that  the  large  shops  employ  a  considerable 
number  of  errand  girls  who  carry  work  from  one  part  of  the  shop  to 
another  and  do  other  errands,  and  work  on  cleaning  when  they  have 
nothing  else  to  do.  These  girls  are  naturally  paid  lower  wages  than 
girls  who  do  cleaning  exclusively,  which  is  the  case  in  smaller  shops 
where  there  is  no  call  for  errand  girls.  Because  the  nonassociation 
shops  are  mostly  small  and  the  association  shops  are  mostly  large, 
the  former  make' a  better  showing  in  the  case  of  the  wages  of  cleaners 
than  the  latter. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  the  case  of  women  operators,  whether  working 
by  the  piece  (Table  23)  or  by  the  week  (Table  21),  no  uniform  tend- 
ency can  be  discovered  in  comparing  association  A  shops  with  non- 
association  A  shops  or  association  B  shops  with  nonassociation  B 
shops,  the  proportion  of  workers  in  different  wage  groups  being  some- 
times greater  in  the  association  shops  and  sometimes  in  the  nonasso- 
ciation shops. 

In  the  case  of  finishers  working  by  the  week,  the  association  B 
shops  had  a  higher  proportion  of  girls  getting  from  $9  a  week  down 
and  from  $12  a  week  up  than  the  nonassociation  B  shops  and  a 
smaller  proportion  of  those  getting  from  $9  to  $12,  while  in  the  A 


12 


BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 


shops,  the  nonassociation  group  was  above  the  association  in  the 
proportion  of  girls  receiving  the  minimum  rate  of  $8  a  week  and  up, 
except  those  earning  $16  a  week  or  more  of  whom  there  were  a  few 
in  the  association  B  shops. 

The  earnings  of  the  finishers  working  by  the  piece  were,  on  the 
whole,  higher  in  the  association  A  shops  than  in  the  nonassociation 
A  shops  and  in  the  association  B  shops  than  in  the  nonassociation  B 
shops. 

These  instances  are  sufficient  to  indicate  that  neither  the  associa- 
tion nor  the  nonassociation  shops  as  such  can  be  said  to  be  paying 
uniformly  higher  rates  than  the  other,  the  difference  being  principally 
between  shops  making  higher  and  lower  grade  garments,  respectively, 
regardless  of  their  affiliation  or  nonaffiliation  with  the  association. 

WAGES  OF  WEEK  WORKERS  PROVIDED  FOR  IN  THE  PROTOCOL. 

As  stated  above,  there  has  been  a  general  increase  in  wages  in  the 
industry  since  the  protocol  went  into  effect.  This  is  especially  true 
and  lends  itself  to  clear  demonstration  in  the  case  of  all  occupations 
for  which  a  minimum  rate  is  provided  in  the  protocol.  Table  1, 
which  follows,  presents  a  summary  of  the  wages  for  such  occupations  : 

TABLE  1.— SUMMARY  OF  WAGES  IN  OCCUPATIONS  FOB  WHICH  MINIMUM  RATES 
ARE  FIXED  BY  THE  PROTOCOL,  SHOWING  PERCENTAGE  OF  WORKERS  RECEIVING 
LESS  THAN  THE  PROTOCOL  MINIMUM,  AND  IN  THE  GROUPS  RECEIVING  THE 
MINIMUM  AND  OVER,  1912  AND  1913. 


Occupation  and  classi- 
fication   of    weekly 
wages. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassocia- 
tion A. 

Association 
B. 

Nonassocia- 
tion B. 

Total. 

In- 
crease 
(+)or 
de- 
crease 
(-) 
per 
cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Cleaners: 
Under  $6i  

59.1 
20.3 
20.6 

35.4 
29.3 
35.3 

47.3 

20.9 
31.8 

25.9 
38.0 
36.1 

67.6 
15.3 
17.1 

48.9 
25.8 
25.3 

60.3 
18.9 
20.8 

37.3 
29.9 
32.7 

-38.1 

+58.2 
+57.2 

$6  to  $6.99  

$7  and  over  

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 



100.0 

27.5 
32.6 
32.8 
7.1 

100.0 

13.0 
22.9 
51.5 
12.6 

Drapers: 
Under  $12  

30.1 
33.8 
31.0 
5.1 

15.6 
25.5 
48.8 
10.1 

28.8 
45.5 
22.7 
3.0 

21.7 
18.4 
47.4 
12.5 

24.5 
29.2 
37.2 
9.1 

8.3 
20.4 
56.6 
14.7 

}-40.3 

+57.0 

+  77.1 

$12  to  $13.99  

$142  to  $15.99  
$16  and  over  



Total  

100.0 

100.0 

38.4 
39.5 
22  1 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

36.1 
27  5 

loo.o  !  

100.0 

42.2 
29.9 
28.0 

100.0 

Examiners: 
Under  $10  2.  .  

46.7 
31.4 
21.9 

19.8 
34  1 

29.7 
37.7 
32.5 

-29.6 

+26.1 
+16.1 

$10  to  $11.  99... 

$12  and  over 

36.4 

46.1 

Total  

100.0 

: 

100.0 





100.0 

100.0 

------- 



100.0 

100.0 

1  No  minimum  wage  for  cleaners  is  provided  for  in  the  protocol,  but  an  understanding  was  reached 
between  the  conferees  who  signed  the  protocol  that  no  cleaner  be  paid  less  than  $6  per  week.    This  under- 
standing was  later  confirmed  in  a  formal  decision  at  one  of  the  early  meetings  of  the  board  of  grievances. 

2  Minimum  protocol  rate. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.       13 


TABLE  1.— SUMMARY  OF  WAGES  IN  OCCUPATIONS  FOR  WHICH  MINIMUM  RATES 
ARE  FIXED  BY  THE  PROTOCOL,  SHOWING  PERCENTAGE  OF  WORKERS  RECEIVING 
LESS  THAN  THE  PROTOCOL  MINIMUM,  AND  IN  THE  GROUPS  RECEIVING  THE 
MINIMUM  AND  OVER,  1912  AND  1913— Concluded. 


Occupation  and  classi- 
fication   of    weekly 
wages. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassocia- 
tion  A. 

Association 
B. 

N  onassocia- 
tion  B. 

Total. 

In- 
crease 
(+)or 
de- 
crease 
(-) 
per 
cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Finishers: 
Under  $8  1 

54.0 
21,3 
24.7 

28.8 
34.1 
37.1 

51.4 
19.7 
28.9 

25.3 
34.9 
39.8 

47.1 
20.3 
32.6 

18.6 
38.2 
43.2 

36.5 
27.0 
36.5 

21.4 

26.1 
52.5 

49.3 
21.2 
29.5 

23.6 
35.3 
41.1 

-52.1 

+66.5 
+39.3 

$8  to  $8  99 

$9  and  over 

Total 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 
49.6 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

69.8 
19.6 
10.5 

100.0 

51.2 
29.7 
19.1 

-26.6 
+52.0 
+81.9 

Ironers: 
Under  812  l 

75.7 
14.5 
9.9 

52.5 
32.4 
15.1 

61.0 

$12  to  $13  99 

27.1 

23.3 

$14  and  over 

11.9 

27.1 

Total 

100.0 

100.0 

100  0 

100  0 

|  100  0 

100.0 

Sample  makers: 
Under  $14  * 

= 

41.0 
36.4 
22.6 

20.7 
50.3 
29.  n 

44.3 

34.0 

43.0 
30.0 
27.0 

26.4 
42.6 
31.2 

-38.6 
+42.0 
+15.6 

$14  to  $15.99 

27.9 
27.8 

38.9 
27.1 

$16  and  over 

Total 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

Joiners: 
Under  SI  2  1 

- 

55.7 
39.4 
4.9 

47.0 
44.6 
8.4 

-15.6 

+13.2 
+71.4 

$12  to  $13.99 

$14  and  over  

Total 

100.0 

10040 



1  Minimum  protocol  rate. 

According  to  this  table  there  has  been  in  every  case  a  decided 
reduction  in  the  percentage  of  persons  receiving  less  than  the  mini- 
mum protocol  rate,  and  in  every  instance  there  has  been  a  very 
marked  increase  in  the  proportion  of  those  in  the  group  receiving  the 
minimum  protocol  rate  and  a  similar,  though  smaller  increase  in  the 
proportion  of  those  in  the  group  receiving  the  higher  rates.  Thus,  the 
proportion  of  cleaners  receiving  less  than  the  mmunum  of  $6  a  week  1 
has  been  reduced  from  60.3  per  cent  of  the  total  hi  1912  to  37.3  per 
cent  in  1913.  The  percentage  of  drapers  receiving  less  than  the  mini- 
mum protocol  rate  of  $14  a  week  has  been  reduced  from  60.1  per  cent  in 
1912  to  35.9  per  cent  in  1913.  The  percentage  of  joiners  receiving  less 
than  the  minimum  protocol  rate  of  $12  a  week  has  been  reduced  from 
55.7  per  cent  in  1912  to  47  per  cent  hi  1913.  The  percentage  of  ex- 
aminers receiving  less  than  the  minimum  protocol  rate  of  $  1 0  a  week  has 
been  reduced  from  42.2  per  cent  in  1912  to  29.7  per  cent  in  1913.  The 
percentage  of  finishers  receiving  less  than  the  minimum  protocol  rate 
of  $8  a  week  has  gone  down  from  49.3  per  cent  in  1912  to  23.6  per 
cent  in  1913.  The  percentage  of  women  ironers  receiving  less  than 

1  No  minimum  wage  for  cleaners  is  provided  for  in  the  protocol,  but  an  understanding  was  reached 
between  the  conferees  who  signed  the  protocol  that  no  cleaner  be  paid  less  than  $6  per  week.  This  under- 
standing was  later  confirmed  in  a  formal  decision  at  one  of  the  early  meetings  of  the  board  of  grievances. 


14  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

the  minimum  protocol  rate  of  $12  a  week  has  gone  down  from  69.8  per 
cent  in  1912  to  51.2  per  cent  in  1913.  The  percentage  of  sample 
makers  receiving  less  than  the  minimum  protocol  rate  of  $14  a  week 
has  been  reduced  from  43.0  per  cent  in  1912  to  26.4  per  cent  in  1913. 
The  proportion  of  cutters  receiving  less  than  the  minimum  protocol 
rate  has  been  reduced  from  81.3  per  cent  in  1912  to  56  per  cent  in 
1913.  These  56  per  cent  in  1913  include,  to  a  large  extent,  cutters 
of  various  degrees  of  apprenticeship,  for  whom  the  protocol  provides 
rates  of  $6,  $12,  and  $18,  according  to  the  length  of  service.  The^ 
proportion  of  cutters  receiving  these  rates  has  increased  in  each  case. 
Thus,  those  getting  $6  to  $6.99  a  week  increased  from  2.7  per  cent 
in  1912  to  3.8  per  cent  in  1913.  Those  getting  $12  to  $13.99  a 
week  formed  the  same  percentage  both  years,  namely  8.5  per  cent, 
and  those  getting  $18  to  $19.99  a  week  increased  from  8.8  per  cent 
in  1912  to  10.9  per  cent  in  1913.  On  the  other  hand,  the  percentage 
of  those  receiving  odd  rates,  that  is,  rates  below  $25,  other  than  the 
three  mentioned,  has  been  reduced  from  61  per  cent  in  1912  to  32.8 
per  cent  in  1913. * 

Corresponding  to  this  general  reduction  in  the  relative  number  of 
persons  receiving  less  than  the  protocol  rate,  there  has  been  an  in- 
crease in  the  percentage  of  those  receiving  the  minimum  protocol  rate 
and  more  than  that  rate.  A  good  deal  has  been  said  in  the  trade 
about  the  tendency  of  the  minimum  to  become  the  maximum.  It 
is,  therefore,  interesting  to  compare  the  proportion  of  those  receiving 
the  minimum  rate  with  those  receiving  more  than  the  minimum  in 
each  occupation  for  which  a  minimum  rate  has  been  provided  in  the 
protocol.  Thus,  in  the  case  of  cleaners,  the  number  of  those  in  the 
group  receiving  the  minimum  of  $6  a  week  constituted  29.9  per  cent  of 
all  the  cleaners,  while  those  receiving  $7  and  over  was  32.7  per  cent, 
the  number  of  those  receiving  more  than  the  minimum  thus  exceed- 
ing the  number  of  workers  receiving  the  minimum.  It  should  be 
noted  that,  in  the  case  of  cleaners  here  quoted,  the  table  gives  the 
number  of  those  receiving  $6  to  $6.99.  While  the  great  bulk  of 
workers  in  that  group  were  getting  the  minimum  of  $6  a  week,  there 
were  a  number  receiving  $6.50  and  a  few  receiving  $6.75,  which  should 
have  been  added  to  the  group  of  those  receiving  more  than  the  mini- 
mum. This  would  involve,  however,  so  much  additional  clerical  labor 
that  it  could  not  be  undertaken  hi  the  closing  days  of  the  completion 
of  this  report.  This  remark  applies  likewise  to  the  percentages  of  the 
other  occupations  which  follow:  In  the  case  of  drapers,  the  propor- 
tion of  those  receiving  from  $14  (the  minimum)  to  less  than  $16  was 
51.5  per  cent,  while  those  receiving  $16  or  more  constituted  12.6  per 
cent  of  the  total.  Of  joiners  the  proportion  receiving  from  the  mini- 
mum rate  of  $12  to  less  than  $14  a  week  was  44.6  per  cent  and  the 

1  For  rates  paid  cutters  see  TabJe  51,  pages  114, 115. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.       15 

proportion  receiving  $14  and  over  was  8.4  per  cent.  In  the  case  of 
examiners,  37.7  per  cent  received  from  $10  (the  minimum)  to  $11.99 
a  week  and  32.5  per  cent  received  $12  a  week  or  more.  If  the 
number  of  those  who  received  from  $10.50  to  $11.50  could  be 
separated,  it  would  in  all  probability  show  as  large  a  number  of 
examiners  receiving  more  than  the  minimum  rate  of  $10  a  week  as 
of  those  who  received  the  exact  minimum  rate.  In  the  case  of  fin- 
ishers, the  proportion  of  those  receiving  from  $8  (the  minimum)  to 
$8.99  a  week  was  35.3  per  cent,  and  of  those  receiving  $9  or  more 
the  proportion  was  41.1  per  cent.  In  this  case,  the  number  of  those 
receiving  more  than  the  minimum  exceeded  that  of  the  workers  re- 
ceiving the  minimum  rate.  In  the  case  of  ironers  those  receiving 
from  the  minimum  of  $12  to  $13.99  a  week  made  up  29.7  per  cent 
and  those  receiving  $14  or  more  a  little  over  19  per  cent.  If  the 
proportion  of  those  receiving  $12.50,  $13,  and  $13.50  were  added 
to  the  group  receiving  more  than  the  minimum  rate  of  $12  a  week, 
the  percentages  of  those  receiving  the  minimum  and  more  than  the 
minimum  would  probably  be  about  equal.  The  percentage  of  sam- 
ple makers  receiving  from  the  minimum  rate  of  $14  to  $15.99  a 
week  was  42.6  and  of  those  receiving  $16  and  over  the  percentage 
was  31.2.  Here  too,  the  proportion  of  those  receiving  the  minimum 
or  more  than  the  minimum  would  probably  be  about  equal  if  those 
receiving  $14.50,  $15,  and  $15.50  could  be  added  to  the  proper 
group. 

Summing  up  the  effect  of  providing  minimum  rates  in  the  protocol, 
it  may  be  said  that  in  all  the  occupations  thus  provided  for  the 
proportion  of  those  receiving  less  than  the  minimum  protocol  rate 
was  reduced  one-fourth  to  one-half  of  what  it  had  been  before  the 
signing  of  the  protocol,  but  that  about  one-fourth  of  the  workers 
for  whom  minimum  rates  were  provided  are  still  getting  less  than  the 
minimum  rate. 

WAGES  OF  WEEK  WORKERS  NOT  PROVIDED  FOR  IN  THE  PROTOCOL. 

The  increase  in  wages  was  not  confined  to  the  occupations  for  which 
minimum  rates  have  been  provided  in  the  protocol.  Practically 
every  occupation  shows  the  same  tendency,  though  the  increase,  as  a 
rule,  is  not  so  large  and  not  always  so  uniform  as  in  the  case  of  the 
occupations  with  protocol  rates.  Thus,  among  the  assorters,  the 
per  cent  of  those  receiving  less  than  $8  a  week  declined  from  30.2  to 
27.2  w?/.u  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  percentage  of  those  receiving 
$8  a  week  or  more.  In  the  case  of  embroiderers  there  has  been  a 
decline  in  the  proportion  of  those  receiving  less  than  $8  a  week  from 
nearly  25  per  cent  of  the  total  in  1912  to  less  than  13  per  cent,  or 
about  one-half,  in  1913.  In  the  case  of  male  pressers  and  ironers 
there  has  been  an  increase  in  the  percentage  of  those  receiving  $20 


16  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

a  week  and  over  from  11.3  in  1912  to  28.1  in  1913.  Taking  the 
operators  as  a  whole,  we  find  that  among  the  women  working  by 
the  week,  there  has  been  an  increase  among  those  receiving  $14  a 
week  and  more  from  16.6  per  cent  of  the  total  in  1912  to  23.5  per 
cent  in  1913,  among  the  men  working  by  the  week  those  receiving 
$16  a  week  and  up  increased  from  26.8  per  cent  in  1912  to  38.2  per 
cent  in  1913.  The  same  is  true  of  all  the  important  branches  of 
operating  in  which  the  work  is  done  by  the  week.  Thus,  among  the 
hemstitchers,  the  percentage  of  those  receiving  $12  a  week  and  more 
increased  from  30.1  in  1912  to  51.4  in  1913.  The  women  lace  run- 
ners earning  $9  a  week  or  more  increased  from  53.8  per  cent  in  1912 
to  78.3  per  cent  in  1913.  The  women  trimmers  receiving  $12  a  week 
or  more  increased  from  30.5  per  cent  in  1912  to  46.8  per  cent  in  1913. 
The  women  tuckers  receiving  $14  a  week  or  more  increased  from 
22.0  per  cent  in  1912  to  56.5  per  cent  in  1913,  while  the  percentage  of 
men  tuckers  receiving  the  same  wage  increased  from  52.8  in  1912  to 
75.6  in  1913. 

EARNINGS  OF  PIECEWORKERS. 

What  has  been  said  about  the  week  workers  is  likewise  true  of  the 
pieceworkers.  Thus,  among  the  women  ironers  working  by  the 
piece,  the  per  cent  of  those  earning  $20  a  week  or  more  during  the 
busiest  week  of  the  year  increased  from  13.4  in  1912  to  24.6  in  1913. 
While  among  the  men  there  has  been  no  such  marked  uniformity, 
some  wage  groups  showing  increases  and  other  groups  showing 
reductions,  on  the  whole  there  has  been  an  improvement,  the  per- 
centage of  those  earning  $16  and  up  having  increased  from  62.7  in 
1912  to  65. 9  in  1913.  Among  the  operators  the  women  pieceworkers 
earning  $14  a  week  or  more  during  the  busiest  week  of  the  year 
increased  from  33.7  per  cent  in  1912  to  49.9  per  cent  in  1913.  Among 
the  men,  the  per  cent  of  those  earning  the  same  amounts  increased 
from  69  to  77.1.  Skirt  operators  working  by  the  piece  and  earning 
$16  a  week  or  more  increased  from  53.3  per  cent  in  1912  to  68.9  in 
1913.  Women  trimmers  working  by  the  piece  and  earning  $14  a 
week  or  more  increased  from  18.9  per  cent  in  1912  to  49.8  per  cent  in 
1913.  Men  tuckers  earning  $14  a  week  or  more  increased  from  52.8 
per  cent  to  75.6  per  cent. 

EFFECT  OF  THE  PROTOCOL  ON  HOURS  OF  WORK. 

ALL  SHOPS  COMBINED. 

The  figures  given  in  Table  2,  which  follows,  show  that  the  protocol 
was  no  less  effective  in  shortening  the  hours  of  work  than  it  was  in 
increasing  the  pay  of  the  workers  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry. 
This  table  relates  to  week  workers  in  the  entire  industry. 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.       17 

TABLE  2.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  WEEK  WORKERS  EMPLOYED  EACH  CLAS- 
SIFIED NUMBER  OF  HOURS  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR,  FOR 
THE  ENTIRE  INDUSTRY,  1912  AND  1913. 


Hours  employed 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Cutters. 

Other  employees. 

Cutters. 

Other  employ- 
ees. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

.  1912 

1913 

Under  10  hours  

6 
3 

8 
27 
106 
205 
299 
207 
188 
146 
94 
13 

12 
9 
15 
26 
155 
9C9 
178 
165 
131 
34 
13 
1 

124 
151 
309 
529 
1,778 
1,352 
2,428 
1,923 
2,635 
1,135 
•   339 
47 
6 
229 

117 

205 
356 
534 
2,980 
5,352 
1,677 
1,646 
1,106 
248 
38 
4 

11.4 

15.6 
}      38.6 

34.3 

12.7 

56.7 
20.1 

10.5 

22.6 

10.6 
34.0 

32.8 

29.4 

37.5 
23.3 

9.8 

• 

10  and  under  20  hours  .... 
20  and  under  30  hours  .  .  . 
30  and  under  40  hours  .  .  . 
40  and  under  50  hours  .  .  . 
50  hours  .  .  .  . 

51  and  under  53  hours  .  .  . 
53  and  under  55  hours  .  .  . 
55  and  under  60  hours.  .  . 
60  and  under  65  bours.  .  . 
65  and  under  70  hours.  .  . 
70  and  under  73  hours.  .  . 
73  and  under  75  hours  . 

75  hours  and  over 

19 

Total 

1,311 

1,708 

12,  785 

14,  2G3 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

i  Highest,  78  hours.  2  Highest,  82J  hours. 

The  normal  hours  of  work  which  varied  from  52  to  54J  hours  per 
week  in  1912  have  been  reduced  to  50  in  1913.  Overtime  has  been 
limited  to  4  hours  per  week  and  not  more  than  2  hours  in  one  day. 
As  shown  in  the  above  table,  the  report  bears  ample  testimony  to 
the  enforcement  of  these  provisions.  Comparing  the  figures  for 
1912  with  those  for  1913  it  was  found  that  for  the  industry  as  a 
whole  the  number  of  persons  working  more  than  50  hours  a  week 
has  been  greatly  reduced,  while  the  number  working  50  hours  or 
less  has  increased.  Excluding  cutters,  all  of  whom  are  men,  the 
proportion  of  week  workers  employed  51  hours  or  more  has  been 
reduced  from  66.8  per  cent  hi  1912  to  33.1  per  cent  in  1913.  Of 
those  working  50  hours  a  week  the  proportion  has  increased  from 
10.6  per  cent  in  1912  to  37.5  per  cent  in  1913.  The  proportion  of 
those  working  less  than  50  hours  also  has  increased  from  22.6  per 
cent  in  1912  to  29.4  per  cent  in  1913. 

The  same  tendencies  are  observed  in  the  case  of  the  cutters,  the 
proportion  of  those  working  51  hours  and  over  decreasing  from  72.9 
per  cent  in  1912  to  30.6  per  cent  in  1913,  while  those  working  50 
hours  increased  from  15.6  to  56.7  per  cent  and  those  working  under 
50  hours  increased  from  11.4  to  12.7  per  cent. 

ASSOCIATION  AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS. 

In  both  association  and  nonassociation  shops  the  proportion  of 
persons  employed  over  50  hours  a  week  has  been  greatly  reduced, 
as  is  shown  in  the  section  on  "hours  of  labor."1  In  association  shops 
the  percentage  of  employees,  excluding  cutters,  working  51  hours  or 
over  was  reduced  from  68  per  cent  in  1912  to  only  33  per  cent  in  1913, 
while  in  nonassociation  shops  the  reduction  was  from  61  to  34  per 


42132°— Bull.  146—14- 


i  See  Table  74,  page  178. 


18  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 

cent.  The  proportion  working  50  hours  increased  from  11  per  cent 
in  1912  to  39  per  cent  in  1913  in  association  shops  and  from  10  to  30 
per  cent  in  nonassociation  shops,  while  those  working  less  than  50 
hours  increased  from  22  to  28  per  cent  in  association  and  from  28  to 
37  per  cent  in  nonassociation  shops. 

The  proportion  of  cutters  working  51  hours  or  over  was  reduced 
from  73  per  cent  in  1912  to  33  per  cent  in  1913  in  association  shops 
and  from  72  to  20  per  cent  in  nonassociation  shops.  Those  working 
50  hours  increased  from  16  to  55  per  cent  in  association  and  from 
15  to  65  per  cent  in  nonassociation  shops.  In  1912  11  per  cent  and 
in  1913  12  per  cent  of  the  cutters  worked  less  than  50  hours  in  asso- 
ciation shops  and  in  nonassociation  shops  the  proportions  were  12 
and  15  per  cent,  respectively,  for  the  two  years. 

REGULARITY  OF  EMPLOYMENT. 

The  dress  and  waist  industry  is  no  exception  to  the  rest  of  the 
garment  industries  in  being  subject  to  extreme  seasonal  fluctuations. 
There  are  about  six  months  of  activity,  four  in  the  spring  and  two  in 
the  fall,  half  of  them  carried  on  under  extreme,  almost  feverish, 
pressure,  followed  by  an  equal  period  of  subnormal  activity  with 
almost  complete  stagnation  for  one  month  in  the  year. 

The  report  shows  that  there  are  more  extreme  fluctuations  in  the 
wages  from  month  to  month  than  in  the  number  employed.  That  is 
to  say,  there  is  a  tendency  to  retain  as  many  employees  engaged  during 
the  busy  season  as  possible  and  to  keep  all  of  them  partly  employed 
during  the  slow  season.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  pieceworkers, 
as  it  is  to  the  interests  of  both  the  manufacturer  and  his  employees — 
the  manufacturer  because  it  enables  him  to  maintain  his  organiza- 
tion intact  ready  to  respond  to  the  demands  of  the  market  at  a 
moment's  notice;  the  workers,  because  it  enables  them  to  earn  what 
little  money  they  can  during  the  dull  season  instead  of  remaining 
totally  idle.  In  the  case  of  week  workers  this  is  less  true,  the  manu- 
facturers preferring  to  keep  busy  all  the  time  whatever  workers  they 
can  retain.  But  here,  too,  there  is  a  tendency  to  accede  to  the  desires 
of  the  union  and  keep  as  many  people  on  the  pay  roll  as  possible  by 
dividing  the  force  into  two  or  more  groups  which  report  for  duty 
at  the  factory  by  turns  on  alternate  days  or  weeks,  and  at  the  same 
time  are  kept  fully  employed  while  at  the  factory. 

It  is  significant  to  note  that  even  during  the  busiest  week  of  the 
year  (which  is  the  period  covered  by  this  report),  28  per  cent  of  all 
the  workers  other  than  cutters  in  the  association  shops  and  37  per 
cent  of  those  in  the  nonassociation  shops  were  employed  less  than 
50  hours  during  that  week. 

Taking  the  wages  paid  out  in  the  industry  during  the  busiest  week 
of  the  year  and  expressing  this  as  100,  the  investigation  has  shown 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.       19 

that  the  average  weekly  wage  earned  by  all  the  workers  during  1912 
was  equal  to  73  per  cent  of  that  of  the  busiest  week  of  the  year. 
That  is  to  say,  if  a  worker's  wage  during  the  busiest  week  of  the  year 
was  equal  to  $15  a  week,  his  weekly  average  throughout  the  year 
would  amount  to  $10.94.  This  average  is  found  to  vary  considerably 
in  the  four  branches  of  the  industry  into  which  it  has  been  divided, 
being  53  per  cent  in  the  nonassoeiation  A  shops,  44  per  cent  in  the 
nonassociation  B  shops,  67  per  cent  in  association  A  shops,  and  71 
per  cent  in  association  B  shops. 

Taking  the  association  and  the  nonassociation  union  shops  together, 
as  shown  in  Table  2,  it  was  found  that,  excluding  cutters,  117  persons 
worked  less  than  10  hours  during  the  busiest  week  of  the  year,  205 
worked  10  and  under  20  hours,  356  worked  20  and  under  30  hours, 
534  worked  30  and  under  40  hours,  and  2,980  worked  40  and  under 
50  hours  a  week.  One  cause  for  this  idleness  during  part  of  the  week 
is  to  be  traced  to  the  workers  themselves  who  lose  a  part  of  their 
working  hours  through  illness,  tardiness  in  reporting  for  work,  and 
other  causes  which  may  make  it  impossible  for  a  worker  to  be  at  the 
shop.  Another  class  among  the  part-time  workers  is  made  ap  of 
new  employees  who  started  to  work  during  the  week,  or  old  employees 
who  left  before  the  end  of  the  week.  A  third  group  consists  of 
workers  who  are  obliged  to  remain  idle  part  of  the  time,  owing  to  the 
inability  of  the  manufacturer  or  the  foreman  to  keep  the  working 
organization  in  smooth  running  order  in  all  its  parts.  The  failure  of 
the  cutting  department  to  cut  a  certain  lot  of  material  on  time  or  to 
cut  up  certain  parts  or  trimmings  may  throw  into  temporary  idleness 
one  or  more  departments  or  some  workers  in  one  or  more  departments. 
Tho  failure  to  provide  a  proper  proportion  of  body  makers,  sleeve 
setters,  tuckers,  etc.,  may  likewise  cause  a  congestion  at  one  stage 
of  the  work  and  idleness  at  another.  Idleness  due  to  these  causes 
maybe  at  a  minimum  during  the  height  of  the  season  and  is  much  more 
frequent  at  other  times  in  the  year,  when  it  is  felt  that  it  is  not  so 
important  to  maintain  a  strict  balance  between  the  different  depart- 
ments, since  there  are  more  workers  at  the  factory  than  can  be  kept 
busy  all  the  time.  While  this  is  true,  it  seriously  interferes  with  the 
efficiency  of  the  shop  both  among  the  workers  and  those  responsible 
for  its  maintenance,  as  shown  hi  Part  II  of  this  report,  dealing  with 
the  standardization  of  piece  rates. 

EFFECT  OF  THE  PROTOCOL  ON  SUBCONTRACTING. 

The  prohibition  of  subcontracting  in  the  shops,  called  for  in  the 
protocol,  has  had  a  marked  effect  on  that  practice,  causing  a  very 
decided  falling  off  in  the  number  of  people  working  for  subcontractors. 
Apprentices,  however,  are  employed  as  assistants  to  skilled  opera- 
tors, only  one  apprentice  being  allowed  to  one  operator,  the  practice 
having  the  sanction  of  both  the  union  and  the  association. 


20  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

SCOPE  OF  THE  INVESTIGATION. 

It  was  aimed  to  cover  as  far  as  possible  every  shop  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  ladies'  dresses  or  waists  in  Greater  New  York.  The 
investigation  covers  all  the  available  shops  operating  under  the 
protocol  or  under  individual  agreements  with  the  union  which  are 
identical  with  the  protocol  in  all  the  essential  provisions. 

The  investigation  of  the  joint  board  of  sanitary  control  carried  out 
in  March,  1913,  revealed  the  existence  of  707  shops,  employing  36,858 
persons.  As  there  were  at  that  time  310  shops  affiliated  with  the  asso- 
ciation and  259  nonassociation  union  shops,  this  would  leave  140  shops 
not  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  either  of  the  association  or  of  the  union. 
Of  the  310  association  shops,  6  refused  to  furnish  information  to  the 
agents  of  the  wage-scale  board,  and  15  shops  were  found  to  lack  the 
necessary  books  or  records  to  enable  the  agents  to  obtain  the  infor- 
mation required,  leaving  289  association  shops  from  which  detailed 
information  as  to  wages  was  obtained.  In  the  investigation  of  the 
259  nonassociation  union  shops  18  firms  refused  information,  while 
in  the  case  of  8  the  books  were  found  in  such  poor  shape  that  they 
could  not  be  utilized  for  the  purpose  of  this  study;  231  shops  were 
found  with  available  records.  The  total  number  of  shops  thus 
covered  by  the  investigation  was  520. 

Information  as  to  individual  earnings  was  obtained  for  29,439 
employees  working  in  the  spring  of  1913.  In  addition  to  these, 
wage  data  were  obtained  for  people  working  in  teams  or  "sets,"  as 
they  are  called  in  the  trade,  of  two  or  more  persons,  of  which  at  least 
1,704  were  known  to  be  working  in  these  520  shops  in  the  spring  of 
1913,  although  their  number  must  have  been  larger,  as  explained 
more  fully  in  the  part  of  this  report  dealing  with  this  subject.  (See 
p.  148.)  This  makes  the  total  number  of  employees  for  whom 
wages  were  obtained  not  less  than  31,485,  as  compared  with  36,858 
persons  found  by  the  joint  board  of  sanitary  control.  However,  in 
this  investigation,  designers,  foremen,  foreladies  (unless  actually 
working  at  the  machine),  packers,  and  office  force  were  not  included, 
all  of  whom,  except  office  force,  were  included  in  the  figures  of  the 
joint  board.  It  would  be  a  conservative  estimate  to  assume  that  the 
520  shops  investigated  employ  at  least  1,500  people  engaged  as 
designers,  foremen,  forewomen,  and  packers,  which,  added  to  31,485, 
would  bring  the  total  employed  by  the  shops  investigated  to  not  less 
than  32,985,  or  nearly  nine-tenths  of  the  employees  in  the  entire 
industry. 

As  will  be  seen  from  Table  68  (p.  159),  more  than  $9,300,000 
•was  paid  out  in  wages  during  1912  in  the  260  shops  which  had  records 
for  that  year.  The  number  of  people  employed  by  the  260  shops 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT   IN   DEESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       21 

during  the  busiest  week  was  20,524,  as  shown  in  Table  67  (p.  158). 
Since  the  number  of  people  found  employed  during  the  busiest 
week  in  1913  was  31,485  and  the  wages  were,  on  the  average, 
about  10  per  cent  higher  than  in  1912,  the  wages  paid  out  in  1913 
must  have  aggregated  more  than  $15,700,000,  in  round  numbers. 
Adding  to  that  an  additional  one-tenth  of  the  above  amount  for  the 
nonunion  shops,  it  is  found  that  the  total  wages  paid  out  in  the  dress 
and  waist  industry  during  the  past  year  in  Greater  New  York  must 
have  amounted  to  more  than  $17,000,000.  As  the  wages  constitute 
from  10  to  20  per  cent  of  the  selling  price  of  the  garments,  the  value 
of  the  output  of  the  dress  and  waist  industry  in  Greater  New  York 
is  probably  close  to  $100,000,000. 

As  will  be  shown  further,  the  shops  investigated  cover  a  wide 
range — from  the  very  smallest  to  the  largest  known  to  exist  in  the 
industry — and  since  they  employ  nine-tenths  of  all  the  people  work- 
ing in  the  industry  in  Greater  New  York,  the  data  submitted  in 
this  report  may  be  accepted  as  conclusive  for  the  entire  industry. 
This  is  especially  true  of  the  wages  for  1912  presented  in  this  report, 
which  prevailed  in  the  industry  prior  to  the  conclusion  of  the  protocol, 
when  wages  were  adjusted  in  all  shops  as  a  result  of  individual 
arrangements  between  the  employers  and  their  employees. 

While  it  may  be  presumed  that  in  1913  wages  in  the  shops  free  from 
protocol  conditions  did  not  follow  the  same  course  as  in. the  remaining 
nine-tenths  of  the  industry,  it  is  very  likely  that  they  did  not  differ 
very  materially  in  the  two  groups.  For  this  there  are  two  reasons: 
In  the  first  place,  the  nonunion  shops  comprise  not  only  the  smaUest 
shops,  but  also  a  number  of  high-grade  shops  in  which  wages  are 
known  to  be  just  as  high  as  in  the  protocol  shops,  if  not  higher; 
in  the  second  place,  as  far  as  the  shops  manufacturing  low-grade 
garments  are  concerned,  it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  a  general 
increase  of  wages  among  nine-tenths  of  the  people  working  in  the 
industry  would  automaticaUy  compel  an  advance  in  wages  of  the 
remaining  one-tenth,  especially  during  the  busy  season  of  the  year, 
when  the  demand  for  labor  exceeds  the  supply  and  when  the  inde- 
pendent manufacturers  would  be  obliged  to  raise  the  wages  paid  in 
their  shops  to  the  level  of  the  other  nine-tenths  of  the  industry  or  be 
in  danger  of  losing  their  help. 

The  number  of  people  whose  individual  earnings  were  covered  by 
the  investigation  is  show.n  in  the  table  following. 


22 


BULLETIN   OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 


TABLE  3.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  PERSONS  EMPLOYED  IN  DIFFERENT  OCCU- 
PATIONS IN  THE  DRESS  AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY,  1912  AND  1913. 


Occupation. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Cleaners                                                                 

1,637 
1,397 
979 
640 
4,352 
816 
69 
326 

2,086 
1,701 
1,321 
852 
5,363 
1,119 
207 
372 

6.8 
5.8 
4.1 
2.7 
18.1 
3.4 
.3 
1.4 

7.1 
5.8 
4.5 
2.9 
18.2 
3.8 
.7 
1.3 

Cutters 

Drapers                                        

Finishers                        

Ironers  and  pressers 

Joiners       

All  other                            

Total,  nonoperators  

10,  216 
13,  771 

-       13,  021 
16,418 

42.6 
.  57.4 

44.2 
55.8 

Operators 

Grand  total     

23,  987 

29,  439 

100.0 

100.0 

As  seen  from  the  table,  the  total  number  of  workers  as  to  whose 
individual  earnings  information  was  obtained  was  23,987  in  1912  and 
29,439  in  1913.  The  difference  of  5,452  people  does  not  represent  an 
actual  increase  in  the  number  of  people  employed  in  the  industry;  it 
is  due  largely  to  the  absence  of  records  of  wages  paid  during  the  year 
1912  in  a  number  of  shops  for  which  information  was  obtained  for 
1913.  The  figures  have  been  arranged  in  the  above  table  to  show 
what  proportion  of  the  total  employees  in  the  industry  are  engaged  in 
each  occupation.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  largest  single  group 
are  the  operators,  who  constituted  in  1913  nearly  56  per  cent  of  all  the 
employees.  In  this  group  have  been  included  all  employees  who 
operate  sewing  machines.  All  the  other  trades  combined  comprise 
less  than  one-half  of  the  employees,  namely,  44.2  per  cent.  The 
largest  single  group  among  these  are  the  finishers,  who  form  18.2  per 
cent,  or  a  little  less  than  one-fifth  of  all  the  employees,  followed  by  the 
cleaners,  who  constitute  7.1  per  cent  of  the  total. 

COMPARISON  OF  ASSOCIATION  AND  NONASSOCIATION 

UNION  SHOPS. 

All  the  data  collected  indicate  that  most  of  the  large  shops  are  affili- 
ated with  the  association  and  are  thereby  parties  to  the  protocol,  while 
the  bulk  of  the  nonassociation  shops  are  of  a  comparatively  small  size. 
Table  4,  which  follows,  has  been  prepared  to  facilitate  ready  compari- 
son of  the  two  groups.  Both  the  nonassociation  and  the  association 
shops  are  divided  into  nine  groups,  each  according  to  the  number  of 
people  they  employ,  as  follows:  (1)  Shops  *  employing  less  than  25 
persons,  (2)  those  employing  from  25  to  49,  (3)  from  50  to  74,  (4) 
from  75  to  99,  (5)  from  100  to  199,  (6)  from  200  to  299,  (7)  from  300 
to  399,  (8)  from  400  to  499,  (9)  from  500  to  600. 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN  DKESS  AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY.       23 


TABLE  4.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  ASSOCIATION  AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS 
EMPLOYING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  NUMBER  OF  EMPLOYEES,  AND  NUMBER  AND  PER 
CENT  OF  EMPLOYEES  IN  SUCH  SHOPS,  1913. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  number  of  employ- 
ees in  each  shop. 

Association. 

Nonassociation. 

Total. 

Shops. 

Employees. 

Shops. 

Employees. 

Shops. 

Employees. 

Under  25 

17 

85 
67 
47 
59 
6 
4 
2 
1 

337 
3,352 
4.217 
4,199 
8,425 
1,427 
1,338 
972 
528 

119 
86 
19 
6 
1 

1,905 
2,  975 
1,169 
500 
141 

136 
171 
86 
53 
60 
6 
4 
2 
1 

2,242 
6,327 
5,386 
4,699 
8,566 
1,427 
1.338 
972 
528 

25  to  49  

50  to  74 

7,5  to  99 

100  to  199  

200  to  299 

300  to  399 

400  to  499 

500  to  600 

Total  

1288 

24,  795 

231 

6,690 

1519 

31,485 

PER  CENT. 


Under  25  . 

5.9 

1.4 

51.  5 

28.5 

26.2 

7.1 

25  to  ^g  . 

29.5 

13.5 

37.2 

44.5 

32.9 

20.1 

50  to  74 

23.3 

17.0 

8.2 

17.5 

16.6 

17.1 

75  to  Q9  ,   .         .  .   . 

16.3 

16.9 

2.6 

7.5 

10.2 

14.9 

100  to  199   ..      . 

20.5 

34.0 

.4 

2.1 

11.6 

27.2 

200  to  299. 

2.1 

5.8 

1.2 

4.5 

300  to  399  

1.4 

5.4 

.8 

4.2 

400  to  499   

.7 

3.9 

.4 

3.1 

500  to  600    . 

.3 

2  1 

.2 

1  7 

Total   . 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100  0 

i  In  one  case  two  shops  have  been  tabulated  as  one. 

As  will  be  seen  from  Table  4,  only  17  shops,  or  5.9  per  cent  of  all  the 
association  shops  were  found  employing  under  25  persons  each,  while 
in  the  nonassociation  group  119  shops,  constituting  51.5  per  cent,  or 
more  than  one-half  of  all  the  nonassociation  shops,  were  found  to  be 
employing  under  25  persons  each.  The  most  prevalent  type  in  the 
association  shops  comprises  the  two  groups  employing  25  and  under 
75  people,  the  number  of  shops  in  these  two  groups  constituting  52.8 
per  cent,  or  more  than  one-half  of  all  the  association  shops.  This 
type  of  shop  is  almost  as  prevalent  among  the  nonassociation  shops, 
constituting  45.4  per  cent  of  the  total.  On  the  other  hand,  shops 
employing  100  people  or  more  are  found  almost  entirely  in  the  asso- 
ciation group,  there  being  only  1  shop  of  that  size  in  the  nonassqcia- 
tion  group,  and  72  in  the  association  group,  constituting  one-fourth 
of  the  entire  group. 

The  contrast  between  association  and  nonassociation  shops  appears 
still  more  striking  when  we  compare  the  total  number  of  people  em- 
ployed by  the  respective  groups.  Of  the  31 ,485  persons  accounted  for 
in  Table  4,  24,795  were  founj  employed*  in  the  289  association  shops, 
while  only  6,690  were  working  in  the  231  nonassociation  shops.  In 
other  words,  although  the  nonassociation  shops  constituted  44.4  per 
cent,  or  nearly  one-half  of  all  the  shops,  they  employed  only  21.2  per 
cent,  or  a  little  over  one-fifth  of  all  the  people.  This  shows  that  the 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 


majority  of  the  nonassociation  shops  are  small  shops.  Looking  at 
some  of  the  separate  groups,  we  find  that  more  than  half  (51.2  per 
cent)  of  all  the  employees  in  association  shops  were  working  in  shops  of 
100  or  more  employees,  while  in  the  nonassociation  group  only  2.1  per 
cent  of  all  the  employees  fall  in  that  class,  which  contains  only  1  shop. 
The  very  opposite  is  true  when  the  smallest  shops  are  considered, 
namely,  those  employing  under  25  persons  each,  which  gave  employ- 
ment to  28.5  per  cent  of  all  the  workers  in  the  nonassociation  shops 
and  to  1.4  per  cent  in  the  association  group.  In  the  nonassociation 
group  nearly  three-fourths  of  all  the  employees  (73.0  per  cent)  worked 
in  shops  having  less  than  50  employees,  while  in  the  association  group 
shops  of  that  size  gave  employment  to  only  14.9  per  cent  of  all  the 
workers. 

Not  only  does  the  association  contain  the  largest  shops;  it  also  em- 
braces most  of  the  shops  manufacturing  the  higher  grades  of  dresses 
and  waists.  Table  5,  which  follows,  shows  the  proportion  of  high- 
grade  and  of  low-grade  garment  shops  in  the  nonassociation  and  the 
association  groups.  While  there  is  a  very  wide  range  in  the  grade 
of  goods  manufactured  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry,  varying  from 
waists  retailing  for  less  than  one  dollar  apiece  to  expensive  gowns,  the 
prices  of  which  run  into  hundreds  of  dollars,  it  was  found  very  difficult 
to  arrange  the  shops  in  several  groups,  owing  to  the  overlapping  of  the 
groups,  very  few  shops  confining  themselves  strictly  to  one  grade  of 
goods.  It  was  therefore  found  necessary  to  divide  the  industry  into 
two  large  classes  as  follows:  (1)  The  class  marked  B,  consisting  of 
shops  manufacturing  cotton  waists  at  not  less  than  $16.50  per  dozen, 
silk  waists  at  not  less  than  $27  per  dozen,  and  dresses  at  not  less  than 
$5  apiece;  (2)  those  marked  A,  manufacturing  garments  selling  at 
prices  below  those  mentioned  above.  Included  in  class  A  are  the 
shops  manufacturing  exclusively  $9-a-dozen  waists  which  are  indi- 
cated separately  in  a  footnote  in  Table  5.  The  reasons  for  the  adop- 
tion of  the  classification  in  Table  5  are  given  on  page  41  in  discussing 
the  subject  of  wages. 

TABLE  5.— SHOPS  AND  EMPLOYEES  IN  ASSOCIATION  AND  NONASSOCIATION  GROUPS 
ACCORDING  TO  THE  CLASS  OF  GOODS  MANUFACTURED,  1913. 

NUMBER. 


Group. 

Association. 

Nonassociation. 

Total. 

Shops. 

Employees. 

Shops. 

Employees. 

Shops. 

Employees. 

A  (low  grade)i  .  .  . 

184 
105 

14,821 
9,974 

196 
..    35 

5,479 
1,211 

380 
140 

20,300 
11,185 

B  (high  grade)  .  . 

Total 

289 

24,795 

231 

6,690 

520 

31,485 

1  This  group  includes  S9-a-dozen  waist  shops,  as  follows:  Association,  21  shops,  employing  1,925  persons; 
nonassociation,  38  shops,  employing  1,125  persons;  total,  59  shops,  employing  3,060  persons. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.       25 


5.— SHOPS  AND  EMPLOYEES  IN  ASSOCIATION  AND  NONASSOCIATION  GROUPS 
ACCORDING  TO  THE*  CLASS  OF  GOODS  MANUFACTURED,  1913— Concluded. 

PER  CENT  IN  EACH  GRADE. 


Group. 

Association. 

Nonassociation. 

Total. 

Shops. 

Employees. 

Shops. 

Employees. 

Shops. 

Employees. 

A  (low  grade)  l 

64 
36 

60 
40 

85 
15 

82 
18 

73 
27 

64 
36 

B  (high  grade  )  

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

PER  CENT  OF  ASSOCIATION  AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS  AND  EMPLOYEES. 


Shops. 

Employees. 

Associa- 
tion. 

Nonassocia- 
tion. 

Total. 

Associa- 
tion. 

Nonassocia- 
tion. 

Total. 

A  (low  grade)  

48 

52 

100 

73 

27 

100 

B  (high  grade)  

Entire  industry 

75 
56 

25 
44 

100 
100 

89 

79 

11 
21 

100 
100 

1  This  group  includes  S9-a-dozen  waist  shops,  which  constituted  7  per  cent  of  the  association  shops,  em- 
ploying 8  per  cent  of  the  association  employees;  10  per  cent  of  nonassociation  shops,  employing  17  per  cent 
of  h  on  association  employees.  Taking  all  the  shops  under  investigation,  they  constituted  11  per  cent  of  all 
the  shops,  employing  10  per  cent  of  ail  the  employees. 

As  will  be  seen  from  this  table,  of  the  31,485  persons  employed  at  the 
height  of  the  season  in  the  spring  of  1913,  20,300,  or  64  per  cent,  were 
employed  by  the  A  shops  manufacturing  the  lower-grade  garments, 
and  11,185  persons,  or  36  per  cent,  worked  in  the  B  shops  making 
the  higher-priced  garments.  The  380  A  shops  included  59  shops 
manufacturing  exclusively  $9  a  dozen  waists  and  employing  3,060 
persons,  or  less  than  10  per  cent,  of  the  total  employees  in  the  shops 
under  investigation.  The  table  shows  that  a  larger  proportion  of 
association  shops  consisted  of  the  higher-grade  shops  than  was  the  case 
in  the  nonassociation  shops.  In  the  former,  36  per  cent  of  the  shops, 
employing  40  per  cent  of  the  employees,  were  in  class  B,  while  in  the 
nonassociation  group,  only  15  per  cent  of  the  shops,  employing  18  per 
cent  of  the  employees,  were  in  that  class.  Taking  all  the  A  shops 
investigated,  more  than  half,  or  52  per  cent,  were  in  the  nonassociation 
group  and  only  48  per  cent  in  the  association,  while  in  the  B  group,  75 
per  cent,  or  three-fourths  of  all  the  shops,  were  in  the  association  and 
only  one-fourth  in  the  nonassociation  group.  Taking  into  account 
the  number  of  employees,  we  find  that  the  association  shops  employed 
nearly  three-fourths  (73  per  cent)  of  all  the  people  working  in  A 
shops,  and  nearly  nine-tenths  (89  per  cent)  of  all  those  working  in  B 
shops. 

It  is  evident  from  Tables  3,  4,  and  5  that  the  association  shops 
occupy  a  commanding  position  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  including  practically  all  of  the  shops  employ- 
ing more  than  100  people,  giving  employment  to  four-fifths  of  the 


26 


BULLETIN    OF    THE    BUREAU    OF    LABOR    STATISTICS. 


people  working  under  union  conditions  of  labor;  between  two-thirds 
and  three-fourths  of  all  the  workers  employed  in  the  industry,  and 
nearly  nine-tenths  of  ah1  the  people  employed  in  shops  manufacturing 
the  better-grade  garments. 

NUMBER  OF  WORKERS  IN  DIFFERENT  OCCUPATIONS. 

The  number  and  per  cent  of  people  employed  in  each  occupation 
in  the  association  and  the  nonassociation  shops  is  shown  in  Table  6, 
which  follows.  The  group,  operators,  includes  all  those  who  work 
on  sewing  machines. 


TABLE  6. 


-NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  EMPLOYEES  IN  ASSOCIATION  AND  NONASSOCI- 
ATION SHOPS,  BY  OCCUPATIONS,  1913. 


Number. 

Per  cent. 

Occupation. 

Associa- 
tion. 

Nonassocia- 
tion. 

Total. 

Associa- 
tion. 

Nonasso- 
ciatiou. 

Total. 

Cleaners  

1,652 

434 

2,086 

79 

21 

100 

Cutters 

1,422 

279 

1,701 

84 

16 

100 

1  101 

220 

1  321 

83 

17 

100 

Examiners                    

750 

102 

852 

88 

12 

100 

Finishers 

4,193 

1,170 

5  363 

78 

22 

100 

Troners  and  pressers  

946 

173 

1,119 

85 

15 

100 

Joiners 

169 

38 

207 

82 

18 

100 

All  others  *  

345 

27 

372 

93 

7 

100 

Total  nonoperators 

10,578 

2,443 

13  021 

81 

19 

100 

Buttonhole  makers 

108 

37 

145 

74 

26 

100 

Button  sewers  

116 

39 

155 

75 

25 

100 

Closers  and  hemmers. 

104 

30 

134 

78 

22 

100 

Dressmakers 

406 

34 

440 

92 

8 

100 

Hemstitchers  

172 

8 

180 

96 

4 

100 

Lace  runners 

107 

6 

113 

95 

5 

100 

Sample  makers  

506 

74 

580 

87 

13 

100 

Skirt  operators                     

340 

59 

399 

85 

15 

100 

Sleeve  makers 

239 

105 

344 

69 

31 

100 

Slee  e  setters  

97 

42 

139 

70 

30 

100 

Trimmers 

587 

47 

634 

93 

7 

too 

Tuckers  '.  

588 

287 

875 

67 

33 

100 

Waist  operators.             

4,671 

1,154 

5,825 

80 

20 

100 

Operators,  not  specified..  . 

4,685 

1,770 

6,455 

73 

27 

100 

Total,  operators 

12,  726 

3,692 

16,418 

78 

22 

100 

Grand  total  

23,  304 

6,135 

29,439 

79 

21 

100 

1  Includes  assorters,  embroiderers,  markers,  and  slopers. 

A  comparison  of  the  proportion  of  association  and  nonassociation 
workers  in  each  occupation,  as  shown  in  this  table,  will  help  to 
show  the  varying  character  of  the  association  and  the  nonassociation 
shops.  When  the  total  number  of  employees  is  considered,  79  per 
cent  of  these  work  in  association  shops  and  21  per  cent  in  non- 
association  shops.  This  percentage  is  not  the  same  for  the  different 
occupations;  thus,  in  the  case  of  cutters,  only  16  per  cent  were 
employed  in  nonassociation  shops  while  84  per  cent  worked  in  associa- 
tion shops.  Similar  percentages  apply  to  drapers.  This  may  be 
explained  by  the  fact  that  the  association  group,  having  a  greater 
proportion  of  large  shops  and  shops  making  high-grade  garments, 
requires  more  cutters,  since  in  the  case  of  high-grade  garments  only 


WAGES   AND  EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.       27 


one  garment  or  a  few  garments  are  cut  at  a  time,  while  in  cheap  gar- 
ments as  many  as  200  layers  of  cloth  are  cut  at  once,  requiring 
naturally  a  smaller  number  of  cutters  in  proportion  to  the  rest  of  the 
operators.  Furthermore,  several  of  the  larger  shops  included  in  the 
association  have  outside  contractors  working  for  them  whom  they 
supply  in  some  cases  with  material  already  cut.  These  shops  will, 
therefore,  have  a  larger  number  of  cutters  in  proportion  to  the 
operators  employed  on  the  premises  than  the  small  shops  which 
are  included  in  the  nonassociation  group.  Another  indication  of  the 
great  proportion  of  high-grade  shops  in  the  association  is  the  propor- 
tion of  examiners,  of  whom  there  were  12  per  cent  employed  in  the 
nonassociation  shops  and  88  per  cent  in  the  association  shops.  The 
examining  must  naturally  be  done  with  greater  care  in  the  case  £>f 
high-grade  garments  than  it  is  in  cheap  garments,  hence  the  large 
proportion  of  examiners,  as  compared  with  other  employees,  in  the 
association  shops. 

Table  7,  which  follows,  shows  the  number  of  men  and  women 
employed  in  the  association  and  the  nonassociation  shops  in  the 
years  1912  and  1913,  arranged  according  to  their  occupations, 
while  Table  8  shows  the  percentage  of  men  and  women  in  each 
occupation  for  association  and  nonassociation  shops  combined: 

TABLE  7.— NUMBER  OF  MALES  AND  FEMALES  IN  EACH  OCCUPATION  IN  ASSOCIATION 
AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS,  1912  AND  1913. 


FEMALES. 


1912 

1913 

Occupation. 

Nonasso- 
ciation. 

Associa- 
tion. 

Total. 

Nonasso- 
ciation. 

Associa- 
tion. 

Total. 

Assorters  

1 

128 

129 

9 

138 

147 

Cleaners     .                       ' 

193 

1,444 

1,637 

434 

1,652 

2,086 

Cutters 

Drapers  .... 

112 

865 

977 

219 

1,096 

1,315 

Embroiderers 

19 

148 

167 

15 

168 

183 

Examiners 

57 

583 

640 

102 

740 

842 

Finishers 

628 

3,724 

4,352 

1  170 

4  193 

5  363 

Ironers  and  pressers.  .          

8 

529 

537 

30 

552 

582 

Joiners  

1 

63 

64 

33 

163 

196 

Markers 

7 

7 

2 

13 

15 

Slopers  

9 

9 

6 

6 

Total,  nonoperators 

1,019 

7  500 

8,519 

2  014 

8,  721 

10  735 

Buttonhole  makers  

5 

58 

63 

10 

56 

66 

Button  sewers 

1 

87 

88 

33 

103 

136 

Closers  and  hemmers  

7 

77 

84 

17 

87 

104 

Dressmakers  

33 

312 

345 

19 

331 

350 

Hemstitchers  . 

4 

94 

98 

6 

164 

170 

Lace  runners 

3 

92 

95 

3 

100 

103 

Sample  makers  

42 

500 

542 

67 

492 

559 

Skirt  operators. 

1 

231 

232 

22 

206 

228 

Sleeve  makers 

49 

160 

209 

95 

205 

300 

Sleeve  setters 

22 

44 

66 

25 

61 

86 

Trimmers  

22 

524 

546 

43 

569 

'    612 

Tuckers  

105 

411 

516 

211 

416 

627 

Waist  operators 

607 

3  982 

4  589 

958 

4  103 

5.061 

Operators,  not  specified  

688 

3,967 

4,655 

1,432 

4,159 

5,591 

Total,  operators 

1,589 

10,539 

12  128 

2,941 

11,052 

13,993 

Grand  total 

2  608 

18  039 

20  647 

4  955 

19  773 

24,  728 

28 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  7.— NUMBER  OF  MALES  AND  FEMALES  IN  EACH  OCCUPATION  IN  ASSOCIATION 
AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS,  1912  AND  1913— Concluded. 

MALES. 


1912 

1913 

Occupation. 

Nonasso- 
ciation. 

Associa- 
tion. 

Total. 

Nonasso- 
ciation. 

Associa- 
tion. 

Total. 

Assorters  

1 

1 

4 

4 

Cleaners 

Cutters  

168 

1,229 

1,397 

279 

1  422 

1  701 

Drapers 

1 

1 

2 

1 

Embroiderers  

2 

2 

1 

1 

Examiners 

10 

10 

Finishers  

Ironers  and  pressers 

44 

235 

279 

143 

394 

537 

Joiners 

3 

2 

5 

5 

g 

11 

Markers       .... 

3 

3 

Slopers 

1 

10 

11 

1 

12 

13 

Total  nonoperators 

217 

1  480 

1  697 

429 

1  857 

2  286 

Buttonhole  makers 

12 

41 

53 

27 

52 

79 

Button  sewers  

15 

15 

6 

13 

19 

Closers  and  hemmers 

5 

15 

20 

13 

17 

30 

Dressmakers  

20 

31 

51 

15 

75 

90 

Hemstitchers 

2 

2 

2 

g 

10 

Lace  runners  

1 

7 

8 

3 

7 

10 

Sample  makers 

3 

12 

15 

7 

14 

21 

Skirt  operators  

5 

76 

81 

37 

134 

171 

Sleeve  makers 

4 

25 

29 

10 

34 

44 

Sleeve  setters  

9 

27 

36 

17 

36 

53 

Trimmers 

4 

8 

12 

4 

18 

22 

Tuckers  

40 

115 

155 

76 

172 

248 

Waist  operators 

67 

495 

562 

196 

568 

764 

Operators,  not  specified  

164 

440 

604 

338 

526 

864 

Total  operators 

334 

1,309 

1,643 

751 

1  674 

2  425 

Grand  total 

551 

2,789 

3,340 

1,180 

3  531 

4  711 

TOTAL  MALES  AND  FEMALES. 


Assorters  

1 

129 

130 

9 

142 

151 

Cleaners 

193 

1,444 

1,637 

434 

1,652 

2  086 

Cutters  

168 

1,229 

1,397 

279 

1,422 

1,701 

Drapers            .                      

113 

866 

979 

220 

1,101 

1,321 

Embroiderers 

19 

150 

169 

15 

169 

184 

Examiners      .           

57 

583 

640 

102 

750 

852 

Finishers 

628 

3,724 

4,352 

1,170 

4,193 

5  363 

Ironers  and  pressers  

52 

764 

816 

173 

946 

1.119 

Joiners 

4 

65 

69 

38 

169 

207 

Markers 

7 

7 

2 

16 

18 

Slopers 

1 

19 

20 

18 

19 

Total,  nonoperators  

1,236 

8,980 

10,216 

2,443 

10,578 

13,  021 

Buttonhole  makers  

17 

99 

116 

37 

108 

145 

Button  sewers 

1 

102 

103 

39 

116 

155 

Closers  and  hemmers  

12 

92 

104 

30 

104 

134 

Dressmakers  

53 

343 

396 

34 

406 

440 

Hemstitchers 

4 

96 

100 

8 

172 

180 

Lace  runners  

4 

99 

103 

6 

107 

113 

Sample  makers 

45 

512 

557 

74 

506 

580 

Skirt  operators  

6 

307 

313 

59 

340 

399 

Sleeve  makers 

53 

185 

238 

105 

239 

344 

Sleeve  setters  

31 

71 

102 

42 

97 

139 

Trimmers                          

26 

532 

558 

47 

587 

634 

Tuckers 

145 

526 

671 

287 

588 

875 

Waist  operators  

674 

4,477 

5,151 

1,154 

4,671 

5,825 

Operators,  not  specified 

852 

4,407 

5,,  259 

1,770 

4,685 

6,455 

Total,  operators  

1,923 

11,848 

13,771 

3,692 

12,726 

16,  418 

Grand  total 

3  159 

20,  828 

23,987 

6,135 

23,  304 

29,  439 

WAGES   AND  EMPLOYMENT   IN   DKESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.        29 


TABLE  8.— NUMBER    AND    PER    CENT    OF    MALES  AND    FEMALES,  BY  OCCUPATIONS, 

1912  AND  1913. 


Occupation. 

1912 

1913 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Fe- 
males. 

Males. 

Total. 

Fe- 
males. 

Males. 

Fe- 
males. 

Males. 

Total. 

Fe- 
males. 

Males. 

Assorters 

129            1 
1,637    

130 
1,637 
1,397 
979 
169 
640 
4,352 
816 
69 
7 
20 

99 
100 

1 

""ioo" 

('\ 

147 
2,086 

4 

"i"76i" 

6 
1 

10 

""537" 
11 

3 
13 

151 
2,  086 
1,701 
1,321 
184 
852 
5,363 
1,119 
207 
18 
19 

97 
100 

3 

Cleaners      «  

Cutters 

1,397 

o 

2 

100 

0) 
1 

Drapers 

977 
167 
640 
4,352 

100 
99 
100 
100 
66 
93 
100 
45 

1,315 
183 
842 
5,383 
582 
196 
15 
6 

100 
99 
99 
100 
52 
95 
83 
32 

Embroiderers            

Finishers                 

Ironers  and  pressers 

537 
64 
7 
9 

279 
5 
...... 

34 

7 

48 
5 
17 
68 

Joiners              

Markers 

Slopers       

55 

Total,  nonoperators. 
Buttonhole  makers  

8,519 

63 

88 
84 
345 
98 
95 
542 
232 
209 
66 
546 
516 
4,589 
4,655 

1,697 

10,216 

116 
103 
104 
396 
100 
103 
557 
313 
238 
102 
558 
671 
5,151 
5,259 

83 

54 

85 
81 
87 
98 
92 
97 
74 
88 
65 
98 
77 
89 
89 

17 

46 
15 
19 
13 
2 
8 
3 
26 
12 
35 
2 
23 
11 
11 

10,  735 

66~ 
136 
104 
350 
170 
103 
559 
228 
300 
86 
612 
627 
5,061 
5,591 

2,286 

79~ 
19 
30 
90 
10 
10 
21 
171 
44 
53 
22 
248 
764 
864 

13,021 

145 
155 
134 
440 
180 
113 
5SO 
399 
344 
139 
634 
875 
5,825 
6,455 

82 

46 
88 
78 
80 
94 
91 
96 
57 
87 
62 
97 
72 
87 
87 

18 

54 
12 
22 
20 
6 
9 
4 
43 
13 
38 
3 
28 
13 
13 

53 
15 
20 
51 
2 
8 
15 
81 
29 
36 
12 
155 
562 
604 

Button  sewers  

Closers  and  hemmers  

Dressmakers 

Hemstitchers         

Lace  runners 

Samp  le  makers  

Skirt  operators                

Sleeve  makers 

Sleeve  setters              

Trimmers 

Tuckers          

Waist  operators 

Operators  not  specified  
Total,  operators  
Grand  total. 

12,  128 

1,643 

13,771 

88 
86 

12 

13,993 

2,425 

16,418 
2S,439 

85 

15 

20,647 

3,340 

23,987 

14 

24,728 

4,711 

84 

16 

1  Less  than  0.5  of  1  per  cent. 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  two  tables  that  of  the  total  of  29,439 
workers  for  whom  individual  earnings  were  ascertained,  24,728,  or 
84  per  cent  of  the  total,  were  women,  while  only  4,711,  or  16  per 
cent,  were  men.  That  is  to  say,  for  every  man  there  were  more  than 
five  women  employed  in  the  industry.  The  proportion  of  men  and 
women  is  not  the  same  in  each  occupation.  In  some  occupations, 
like  cutters,  men  are  the  only  workers.  In  others,  like  finishers, 
women  are  exclusively  employed.  Among  drapers,  embroiderers, 
and  examiners,  the  number  of  men  is  so  small  as  to  be  negligible.  Of 
cleaners  women  constitute  100  per  cent,  and  the  majority  of  these 
are  young  girls  who  have  just  entered  the  trade. 

Although  ironing  and  pressing  is  work  which  calls  for  great  physical 
endurance,  as  it  must  be  done  standing  up  all  day  and  working  with 
hot  irons,  the  proportion  of  men  and  women  is  almost  the  same,  the 
women  slightly  predominating,  there  being  52  per  cent  women  and 
48  per  cent  men. 

Taking  the  operators  as  a  whole,  there  were  13,993  women  as 
against  2,425  men,  there  being  thus  6  women  operators  for  every  man 


30  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

working  at  a  machine.  In  some  of  the  departments  of  operating,  ; 
the  women  have  the  field  entirely  to  themselves.  In  general,  it  may 
be  said  that  where  speed  and  quantity  of  output  count  for  most, 
men,  on  account  of  their  greater  strength  and  endurance,  are  preferred. 
On  the  other  hand,  wherever  the  nature  of  the  work  calls  for  patience, 
delicate  touch,  and  nimble  ringers,  women  will  be  found  holding  the 
field.  Thus  trimming,  which  calls  for  deft  and  delicate  handling  oi 
the  lace  and  other  trimming  material,  is  almost  exclusively  done 
women,  the  number  of  men  being  only  22,  or  3  per  cent,  of  a  total 
634  trimmers.  Sample  making  and  hemstitching,  also  show  a  vei 
small  proportion  of  men,  namely,  4  per  cent  in  the  case  of  sample 
makers  and  6  per  cent  in  the  case  of  hemstitchers. 

The  largest  proportion  of  men  among  operators  is  found  in  the  case 
of  buttonhole  makers,  where  men  outnumber  women,  55  per  cent 
being  men,  45  per  cent  women.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  in 
many  shops  the  value  of  a  buttonhole  maker  who  has  the  ability 
to  take  care  of  the  machine  in  its  frequent  breakdowns  is  greatly 
appreciated,  and  in  this  respect  men  naturally  have  the  advantage 
over  women.  Another  group  of  operators  in  which  men  are  present 
in  large  numbers  is  that  of  skirt  operators,  in  which  the  women 
constitute  57  per  cent  and  the  men  43  per  cent.  In  skirt  oper- 
ating long  seams  are  the  rule  and  speed  is  the  chief  requirement. 
Another  group  in  which  men  are  employed  to  a  considerable  extent 
is  sleeve  setting,  in  which  their  number  exceeds  one-third,  there  being 
62  per  cent  women  and  38  per  cent  men.  In  the  group  of  tuckers 
28  per  cent  are  men  and  72  per  cent  are  women,  and  of  the  group  of 
closers  and  hemmers  men  constitute  less  than  one-fourth. 

WEEK  WORK  AND  PIECEWORK. 
EXTENT  IN  DIFFERENT  OCCUPATIONS. 

The  number  of  people  working  in  the  different  occupations  is  given 
in  detail  in  Table  9,  and  the  extent  to  which  week  work  and  piecework 
prevailed  among  men  and  women  in  1912  and  1913  is  given  for  each 
occupation.  In  this  table  the  number  of  operators  working  on  differ- 
ent kinds  of  work  is  likewise  given  in  detail,  the  operators  being 
divided  into  14  distinct  occupations,  as  follows:  Buttonhole  makers, 
button  sewers,  closers  and  hemrners,  dressmakers,  hemstitchers,  lace 
runners,  sample  makers,  skirt  operators,  sleeve  makers,  sleeve  setters, 
trimmers,  tuckers,  waist  operators,  and  operators  not  specified. 

In  connection  with  Table  9,  which  gives  figures  for  the  industry  as 
a  whole,  is  presented  Table  10,  giving  similar  figures  for  shops  making 
cheap  waists  sold  to  retail  stores  at  $9  per  dozen. 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.        31 

TABLE  9.— NUMBER   OF   WEEK  WORKERS   AND    PIECEWORKERS,   BY  SEX,  IN  EACH 

OCCUPATION,  1912  AND  1913. 

FEMALES. 


1912 

1913 

Occupation. 

Week 
workers. 

Piece- 
workers. 

Total. 

Week 
workers. 

Piece- 
workers. 

Total. 

Assorters..                                             

129 

129 

147 

147 

Gleaners 

1  592 

45 

1,637 

2,066 

20 

2  086 

Drapers                   

952 

25 

977 

1,268 

47 

1,315 

Embroiderers 

93 

74 

167 

86 

97 

183 

Examiners 

640 

640 

842 

842 

Finishers  . 

2,784 

1,568 

4,352 

3,334 

2,029 

5,363 

Ironers  and  pressers  

305 

232 

537 

407 

175 

582 

Joiners           .                                             ... 

62 

2 

64 

188 

8 

196 

Markers 

7 

7 

15 

15 

9 

9 

6 

6 

Total  nonoperators 

6,573 

1,946 

8,519 

8,359 

2,376 

10,  735 

Buttonhole  makers  ...  •                       

46 

17 

63 

45 

21 

66 

Button  sewers 

69 

19 

88 

113 

23 

136 

Closers  and  hemmers 

40 

44 

84 

64 

40 

104 

Dressmakers 

68 

277 

345 

56 

294 

350 

Hemstitohers 

93 

5 

98 

148 

22 

170 

Lace  runners.             .                       .... 

78 

17 

95 

83 

20 

103 

Sample  makers 

540 

2 

542 

551 

8 

559 

Skirt  operators 

52 

180 

232 

69 

159 

228 

Sleeve  makers 

144 

65 

209 

173 

127 

300 

Sleeve  setters  

55 

11 

66 

57 

29 

86 

Trimmers  

286 

260 

546 

343 

269 

612 

Tuckers..   . 

229 

287 

516 

360 

267 

627 

Waist  operators  

2,263 

2,326 

4,589 

2,488 

2,573 

5,061 

Operators,  not  specified 

2,226 

2,429 

4,655 

2,386 

3,205 

5,591 

Total,  operators 

6  189 

5,939 

12,  128 

6  936 

7  057 

13  993 

Grand  total  

12,  762 

7,885 

20,  647 

15,295 

9,433 

24  728 

MALES. 


Assorters.. 

1 

1 

4 

4 

Cutters  

1  397 

1,397 

1  701 

1  701 

Drapers 

1 

1 

2 

5 

1 

6 

Embroiderers  

2 

2 

1 

1 

Examiners.  .. 

10 

10 

Ironers  and  pressers  

213 

66 

279 

355 

182 

537 

Joiners  

2 

3 

•      5 

7 

4 

11 

Markers  

3 

3 

Slopers  .  .  . 

11 

11 

13 

13 

Total,  nonoperators 

1  627 

70 

1,697 

2  099 

187 

2  286 

Buttonhole  makers  .. 

24 

29 

53 

31 

48 

79 

Button  sewers  .  . 

12 

3 

15 

14 

5 

19 

Closers  and  hemmers. 

11 

9 

20 

14 

16 

30 

Dressmakers  .  . 

7 

44 

51 

15 

75 

90 

Hemstitchers.    . 

2 

2 

7 

3 

10 

Lace  runners  

8 

8 

7 

3 

10 

Sample  makers... 

14 

1 

15 

21 

21 

Skirt  operators  

37 

44 

81 

64 

107 

171 

Sleeve  makers  

11 

18 

29 

12 

32 

44 

Sleeve  setters... 

16 

20 

36 

25 

28 

53 

Trimmers  

8 

4 

12 

g 

13 

22 

Tuckers  

83 

72 

155 

109 

139 

248 

Waist  operators  

277 

285 

562 

332 

432 

764 

Operators,  not  specified 

245 

359 

604 

257 

607 

864 

Total,  operators  

755 

888 

1,643 

917 

1,508 

2,425 

Grand  total  

2,382 

958 

3,340 

3,016 

1  695 

4  711 

BULLETIN    OF    THE    BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  9.-NUMBER   OF   WEEK   WORKERS   AND   PIECEWORKERS,  BY  SEX,  IN  EACH 
OCCUPATION,  1912  AND  1913— Continued. 

TOTAL  MALES  AND  FEMALES. 


1912 

1913 

Occupation. 

Week 
workers. 

Piece- 
workers. 

Total. 

Week 
workers. 

• 
Piece- 
workers. 

Total. 

Assorters 

130 

130 

151 

H 

1  592 

45 

1  637 

2  066 

20 

2  0X5 

Cutters    .• 

1,337 

1  397 

1  701 

1  701 

953 

26 

979 

1  273 

48 

1  321 

Embroiderers     .... 

95 

74 

169 

'   87 

97 

'l84 

Examiners 

640 

640 

852 

852 

Finishers...              . 

2,784 

1,568 

4,352 

3  334 

2,029 

5  363 

Ironers  and  pressers 

518 

298 

816 

762 

357 

1  119 

Joiners  ... 

64 

5 

69 

195 

12 

207 

Markers 

7 

7 

18 

18 

Slopers  

20 

20 

19 

19 

Total,  nonoperators  

8,200 

2,016 

10  216 

10  458 

2  563 

13,  021 

Buttonhole  makers  

70 

46 

116 

76 

69 

145 

Button  sewers  .             

81 

22 

103 

127 

28 

155 

Closers  and  hemmers 

51 

53 

104 

78 

56 

134 

Dressmakers  

75 

321 

396 

71 

369 

440 

Hemst  itchers  . 

95 

5 

100 

155 

25 

180 

Lace  runners  

86 

17 

103 

90 

23 

113 

Sample  makers 

554 

3 

557 

572 

g 

580 

Skirt  operators.  .  .          .             .  .          ... 

89 

224 

313 

133 

266 

399 

Sleeve  makers.. 

155 

83 

238 

185 

159 

344 

Sleeve  setters  

71 

31 

102 

82 

57 

139  -, 

Trimmers 

294 

264 

558 

352 

282 

634 

Tuckers....  

312 

359 

671 

469 

406 

875  • 

Waist  operators 

2,540 

2  611 

5  151 

2  820 

3,005 

5  825 

Operators,  not  specified  

2,471 

2,788 

5,259 

2,643 

3,812 

6,455 

Total,  operators  

6,944 

6,827 

13,  771 

7,853 

8,565 

16,418 

Grand  total 

15  144 

8  843 

23  987 

18  311 

11  1^8 

29  439 

TABLE  10.— NUMBER  OF  WEEK  WORKERS  AND  PIECEWORKERS,  BY  SEX,  IN  EACH 
OCCUPATION  IN  SHOPS  MANUFACTURING  WAISTS  WHICH  SELL  AT  $9  PER  DOZEN 
TO  RETAIL  STORES,  1012  AND  1913. 

FEMALES. 


1912 

1913 

Occupation. 

Week 
workers. 

Piece- 
workers. 

Total. 

Week 
workers. 

Piece- 
workers. 

Total. 

Assorters  

i 

1 

Cleaners  

316 

316 

319 

319 

Examiners  

41 

41 

72 

5 

77 

Finishers  

92 

30 

£2 

51 

39 

90 

Ironers  

37 

36 

73 

68 

33 

101 

Markers  

1 

1 

g 

6 

Total,  nonorarators 

417 

66 

483 

517 

77 

594 

Buttonhole  makers... 

5 

I 

g 

g 

g 

Button  sewers  

15 

15 

36 

g 

42 

Closers  and  hemmers..  .  . 

g 

3 

11 

iq 

5 

24 

Lace  runners  

3 

7 

Sample  makers... 

10 

10 

17 

17 

Sleeve  makers.. 

52 

12 

64 

68 

10 

81 

Sleeve  setters  

14 

3 

17 

Oo 

29 

Trimmers  

21 

21 

25 

25 

Tuckers  
Waist  operators  

27 

782 

1 
165 

28 
947 

35 

Qfcfi 

12 

OQl 

47 

i  2°o~ 

Total,  operators  

937 

185 

1  1°° 

1  222 

278 

1  500 

Grand  total  

1  354 

251 

1  605 

2  0C4 

WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.       33 


TABLE  1O.— NUMBER  OF  WEEK  WORKERS  AND  PIECEWORKERS,  BY  SEX,  IN  EACH 
OCCUPATION  IN  SHOPS  MANUFACTURING  WAISTS  WHICH  SELL  AT  $9  PER  DOZEN 
TO  RETAIL  STORES,  1912  AND  1913— Concluded. 

MALES. 


1912 

1913 

Occupation. 

Week 
workers. 

Piece- 
workers. 

Total. 

Week 
workers. 

Piece- 
workers. 

Total. 

112 

112 

143 

143 

42 

17 

59 

69 

28 

95 

3 

3 

Total,  nonoperators  

154 

17 

171 

215 

26 

241 

Buttonhole  makers 

4 

11 

15 

10 

16 

26 

Button  sewers  ..                        

6 

6 

6 

2 

8 

Clos°rs  and  heinniers 

6 

3 

9 

8 

9 

17 

1 

1 

3 

3 

1 

1 

1 

1 

9 

1 

10 

5 

9 

14 

Sleeve  setters                                          

6 

13 

8 

14 

22 

1 

1 

Tuckers                                       

14 

14 

28 

13 

12 

25 

Waist  operators 

135 

68 

203 

178 

129 

307 

Total,  operators  

183 

103 

286 

233 

191 

424 

Grand  total 

337 

120 

457 

448 

217 

665 

TOTAL  MALES  AND  FEMALES. 


Assorters 

1 

1 

316 

316 

319 

319 

Cutters... 

112 

112 

143 

143 

Examiners 

41 

41 

72 

5 

77 

Finishers  

22 

30 

52 

51 

39 

90 

Ironers. 

79 

53 

132 

137 

59 

196 

Markers 

1 

1 

9 

9 

Total,  nonoperators 

571 

83 

654 

732 

103 

835 

Buttonhole  makers 

9 

12 

21 

18 

16 

34 

Button  sewers  

21 

21 

42 

8 

50 

Closers  and  hemmers 

14 

6 

20 

27 

14 

41 

Lace  runners  

4 

4 

8 

2 

10 

Sample  makers... 

11 

11 

18 

18 

Sleeve  makers 

61 

13 

74 

73 

22 

95 

Sleeve  setters  

21 

9 

30 

31 

20 

51 

Trimmers 

21 

21 

26 

26 

Tuckers. 

41 

15 

56 

48 

24 

72 

Waist  operators  

917 

•    233 

1,150 

1,164 

363 

1,527 

Total,  operators 

1,120 

288 

1,408 

1,455 

469 

1,924 

Grand  total  

1,691 

371 

2,062 

2,187 

572 

2,759 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  figures  representing  the  numbers  of 
employees  for  each  of  these  occupations  do  not  represent  the  actual 
number  employed  therein.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  the  pay  rolls 
of  the  different  concerns  are  not  kept  in  a  uniform  manner ;  some  con- 
cerns describe  separately  each  class  of  operators,  such  as  buttonhole 
makers,  closers  and  hemmers,  hemstitchers,  etc. ;  other  concerns  desig- 
nate every  employee  who  works  at  a  machine  as  an  operator.  The 
only  way  to  overcome  this  difficulty  would  have  been  to  interview  per- 
sonally each  employee  in  the  shop.  Apart  from  the  reluctance  on  the 
42132°— Bull.  146—14 3 


34  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOE   STATISTICS. 

part  of  most  employers  to  admit  agents  of  the  wage-scale  board  to 
the  shops  for  that  purpose,  on  the  ground  that  it  would  interfere 
with  the  work  of  the  employees,  it  would  have  greatly  delayed  the 
investigation  and  materially  increased  its  cost.  Even  then  a  large 
number  of  cases  could  not -have  been  investigated  because  a  con- 
siderable number  of  the  employees  found  on  the  books  would  not 
have  been  found  working  in  the  same  shops  at  the  time  of  the 
investigation. 

The  classification  of  the  different  kinds  of  operators  is  described  in 
detail  under  the  respective  heads  in  the  section  devoted  to  wages  of 
operators  of  different  kinds. 

The  figures  given  in  Table  9  for  operators  must,  therefore,  be  con- 
sidered correct  only  when  taken  for  the  operators  as  a  whole,  of 
whom  16,418  were  found  in  1913  as  against  13,771  in  1912.  For  the 
separate  subdivisions  of  operators,  the  figures  are  of  value  princi- 
pally for  comparative  purposes,  such  as  showing  the  proportion  of 
week  workers  and  pieceworkers  in  each  group,  relative  numbers  of 
men  and  women,  comparative  wages  in  1912  and  1913,  and  as 
between  one  group  of  operators  and  another  group. 

RELATION  OF  SEX  TO  WEEK  WORK  AND  PIECEWORK. 

Table  9  throws  an  interesting  light  on  the  relation  of  sex  to  piece- 
work and  week  work.  On  comparing  the  number  of  men  and  women 
engaged  in  piecework  and  week  work  in  those  branches  of  operating 
where  the  piecework  system  is  employed  to  a  considerable  extent, 
it  will  be  found  that  with  the  exception  of  dressmakers  and  skirt 
operators,  men  are  engaged  on  piecework  to  a  much  greater  extent 
than  women.  As  there  is  particular  interest  in  the  conditions  exist- 
ing since  the  protocol  went  into  effect,  the  1913  figures  will  now  be 
considered.  Among  buttonhole  makers,  the  women  had  approxi- 
mately one  pieceworker  to  two  week  workers,  while  the  men  had 
three  pieceworkers  for  every  two  week  workers ;  in  other  words,  the 
ratio  of  pieceworkers  to  week  workers  was  three  times  as  large 
among  men  as  among  women.  Among  closers  and  hemmers,  the 
women  had  one  and  one-half  week  workers  for  every  pieceworker, 
while  the  men  had  more  pieceworkers  than  week  workers;  among 
sleeve  makers,  the  women  had  one  and  one-third  week  workers  to 
every  pieceworker,  while  the  men  had  nearly  three  pieceworkers  to 
every  week  worker;  among  sleeve  setters,  the  women  had  more  than 
two  week  workers  for  every  pieceworker,  while  the  men  had  more 
pieceworkers  than  week  workers;  the  same  is  true  of  the  tuckers; 
among  waist  operators  and  operators  not  specified,  the  proportion  of 
piece  workers  is  much  greater  among  the  men  than  among  the 
women.  This  is  easily  explained  when  what  has  been  said  on  the 
preceding  pages  is  borne  in  mind,  namely,  that  men  excel  the  women 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DEESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.       35 

in  speed  and  in  endurance,  while  women  show  greater  aptitude  for 
work  requiring  patience  and  delicate  handling.  In  the  former  case, 
piecework  is  more  remunerative,  while  in  the  latter  compensation  by 
the  week  is  frequently  preferred  both  by  the  employer  and  by  the 
worker. 

RELATIVE  ADVANTAGES  OF  WEEK  WORK  AND  PIECEWORK. 

Whether  workers  are  to  be  compensated  on  a  piece  or  a  week  basis 
depends  to  a  large  extent  on  the  nature  of  the  work.  It  is  well  known 
that,  in  adopting  the  protocol,  the  dress  and  waist  industry  upset  a 
number  of  time-honored  precedents  and  established  new  ones.  One 
of  these  concerns  the  respective  attitude  of  employers  and  employees 
to  piecework  and  week  work.  The  usual  attitude  of  manufacturers 
in  other  industries  is  in  favor  of  piecework,  while  the  workers  show 
a  decided  preference  for  week  work.  The  manufacturer  is  guided 
in  his  attitude  by  the  obvious  desire  of  paying  only  for  work  done, 
since  under  the  piecework  system  the  pay  of  the  worker  is  automat- 
ically cut  off  for  every  minute  or  second  that  he  fails  to  turn  out  work. 
The  workers  object  to  the  system  on  many  grounds,  chief  of  which 
are:  (1)  That  the  piecework  system  tends  to  speed  up  the  worker  to 
the  limit  of  physical  endurance,  leading  to  a  premature  exhaustion  of 
his  strength  and  injuring  his  or  her  health  generally;  (2)  that  it  de- 
prives him  of  pay  at  more  or  less  frequent  intervals,  due  not  only  to 
lack  of  work  but  also  frequently  to  lack  of  system  in  the  distribution 
of  work  between  the  various  departments,  resulting  in  enforced 
idleness  on  his  part,  while  he  is  obliged  to  remain  at  the  factory 
waiting  for  work;  (3)  that  it  furnishes  opportunities  for  foremen  and 
subf oremen  to  make  favorites  of  some  employees  and  to  discriminate 
against  others  by  keeping  the  favored  workers  as  constantly  at 
work  as  possible  and  giving  them  the  best  paying  work,  while  the  less 
favored  are  obliged  to  get  along  with  what  is  left;  (4)  the  fourth 
and  chief  objection  of  employees  to  the  piecework  system  is  based  on 
what  is  a  common  practice  in  many  industries,  the  tendency  to  reduce 
the  piece  rate  as  the  workers  gain  in  speed  and  find  new  " short  cuts" 
in  turning  out  the  same  work. 

The  idea  on  the  part  of  the  management  is  to  keep  the  earnings  of 
the  employees  within  certain  limits  recognized  as  adequate  under  a 
standard  set  for  different  occupations  or  trades.  The  worker  thus 
finds  that,  as  soon  as  his  earnings  exceed  the  recognized  limit,  all 
additional  exertion  on  his  part  not  only  will  fail  to  bring  him  addi- 
tional reward,  but  on  the  contrary  will  lead  to  a  curtailment  of  the 
rate  of  pay  for  himself  and  his  fellow  workers.  This  feeling  on  the 
part  of  the  worker,  engendered  by  the  attitude  of  his  employers, 
leads  frequently  to  an  intentional  limitation  of  output  after  it  reaches 
the  limit  beyond  which  he  has  reason  to  expect  a  reduction  in  the 


36 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF    LABOR    STATISTICS. 


rate  of  pay.  This  in  turn  engenders  friction  between  the  employers 
and  employees  and  has,  therefore,  led  to  the  general  hostility  to  the 
piecework  system  on  the  part  of  workingmen  and  workingwomen. 
The  workers'  union  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry  has  upset  this  prec- 
edent along  with  many  others.  It  was  the  workers  who  were  insistent 
on  the  adoption  of  the  piece-rate  system  for  the  industry  at  the 
time  of  concluding  the  protocol,  while  a  large  part  of  the  manufac- 
turers showed  preference  for  the  week-work  system. 

EXTENT  OF  WEEK  WORK  AND  PIECEWORK  PRIOR  TO  THE  PROTOCOL. 

The  preference  for  week  work  among  employers  was  confined 
chiefly  to  manufacturers  of  cheap  garments,  since  the  piece-rate 
system  was  already  in  vogue  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  shops 
manufacturing  higher-grade  garments  before  the  protocol  had  gone 
into  effect.  This  can  be  readily  seen  on  comparing  the  figures  in 
Tables  11  and  12,  which  follow: 

TABLE  11.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  WEEK  WORKERS  AND  PIECEWORKERS,  BY 
OCCUPATIONS,   1912  AND   1913. 


Occupation. 

1912 

1913 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Week 
work- 
ers. 

Piece- 
work- 
ers. 

Total. 

WeekJ  Piece- 
work- work- 
ers,     ers. 

Week 
Avork- 
ers. 

Piece- 
work- 
ers. 

Total. 

Week 

work- 
ers. 

Piece- 
work- 
ers. 

Assorters 

130 
1,592 
1  397 

""45" 

130 
1,637 
1,397 
979 
169 
640 
4,352 
816 
69 
7 
20 

100 
97 
100 
97 
56 
100 
64 
63 
93 
100 
100 

""3" 

""3" 
44 

""36" 
37 

7 

151 
2,086 
1,701 
1,  273 
87 
852 
3,334 
762 
195 
18 
19 

"~20" 

""48 
97 

2,  629" 
357 
12 

151 
2,086 
1,701 
1,321 
184 
852 
5,363 
1,119 
207 
18 
19 

100 
99 
100 
96 
47 
100 
62 
68 
94 
100 
100 

~"i 
""4 

53 

""38 
32 
6 

Cleaners  

Cut'ers  

Drapers 

953 
95 
640 
2,  784 
518 
64 

26 
74 

L568" 
298 
5 

Embroiderers  

Examiners 

Finishers 

Ironers  and  pressers 

Joiners  

Markers 

Slopers  

20 

Total,  nonoperators  
Buttonhole  makers  

8,200 

70~ 
81 
51 
75 
95 
86 
554 
89 
155 
71 
294 
312 
2,540 
2,471 

2,016 

10,  216 

n<r 

103 
104 
396 
100 
103 
557 
313 
238 
102 
558 
671 
5,151 
5,259 

80 

20 

10,  458 

2,563 

13,021 

80 

20 

46 
22 
53 
321 
5 
17 
3 
224 
83 
31 
264 
359 
2,611 
2,788 

6,827 

60 
79 
49 
19 
95 
83 
99 
28 
85 
70 
53 
46 
49 
47 

40 
21 
51 
81 
5 
17 
1 
72 
35 
30 
47 
54 
51 
53 

76 
127 
78 
71 
155 
90 
572 
133 
185 
82 
352 
469 
2,820 
2,643 

69 
28 
56 
.   369 
25 
23 
8 
266 
159 
57 
282 
406 
3,005 
3,812 

145 
155 
134 
440 
180 
113 
580 
399 
344 
139 
634 
875 
5,825 
6,455 

52 
82 
58 
16 
86 
80 
99 
33 
54 
59 
56 
54 
48 
41 

48 
18 
42 
84 
14 
20 
1 
67 
46 
41 
44 
46 
52 
59 

Button  sewers  

Closers  and  hemmers  

Dressmakers  

Hemstitchers  

Lace  runners.  .  . 

Sample  makers  

Skirt  operators  

Sleeve  makers  

Sleeve  setters  

Trimmers... 

Tuckers...   . 

Waist  operators  

Operators,  not  specified 

Total,  operators  

6,944 
15,  144~ 

13,  771 

50 
63 

50 

7,853 
18,311 

8,565 
11,  128 

16,418 
29,  439^ 

48 
62~ 

52 

Grand  total 

8,843 

23,987 

37 

38 

WAUES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.        37 


TABLE  12.-NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  WEEK  WORKERS  AND  PIECEWORKERS  BY 
OCCUPATIONS,  IN  SHOPS  MANUFACTURING  WAISTS  WHICH  SELL  AT  $9  PER  DOZEN, 
TO  RETAIL  STORES,  1912  AND  1913. 


Occupation. 

1912 

1913 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Week 
work- 
ers. 

Piece- 
vrork- 
ers. 

Total. 

Week- 
work- 
ers. 

Piece- 
work- 
ers. 

Week    Piece- 
work-  work- 
ers,      ers. 

Total. 

Week 
work- 
ers. 

Piece- 
work- 
ers. 

Assorters                                .  .  . 

1 

319 
143 
72 
51 
137 
9 

319 
143 

77 
90 
196 
9 

100 
100 
100 
94 
57 
70 
100 

Cleaners 

316 
112 
41 
22 
79 
1 

316 
112 
41 
52 

"! 

100 
100 
100 
42 
60 
100 

Cutters 

"~6 
43 
30 

Examiners                             .  .  . 

""36" 
53 

'"58 
40 

5 
39 
59 

Finishers 

Ironers      

Markers 

Total,  nonoperators  
Buttonhole  makers 

571 

83 

654 

87 

13 

732 

103 

835 

-,,-.-..-.-..  — 

34 
50 
41 
10 
18 
95 
51 
26 
72 
1,527 

88 

12 

9 
21 
11 
4 
11 
Cl 
21 
21 
41 
017 

12 

21 
21 
20 
4 
11 
74 
30 
21 
56 
1,150 

43 
100 
70 
100 
100 
82 
70 
100 
73 
80 

57 

18 
42 
27 
8 
18 
73 
31 
26 
48 
1,164 

16 
8 
14 
2 

53 
84 
66 
80 
100 
77 
61 
100 
67 
76 

47 
16 
34 

20 

Button  scwors 

Closers  and  hemmers  

G 

30 

Lace  runners 

Sample  makers 

Sleeve  makers  

13 
9 

18 
30 

22 
20 

23 

39 

Sleeve  setters.  ...                     .  . 

Trimmers 

Tuckers  

15 
233 

27 
20 

24 
363 

33 
24 

Waist  operators. 

Total,  operators 

1,120 

288 

1,408 

80 

20 

1,455 

469 

1,924 

76 

24 

Grand  total  ... 

1,691 

371 

2,062 

82 

18 

2,187 

572 

2,759 

79 

21 

Table  11  shows  the  extent  of  piecework  and  week  work  in  each 
occupation  for  the  industry  as  a  whole,  while  Table  12  gives  similar 
figures  for  the  shops  making  cheap  waists  selling  wholesale  at  $9  per 
dozen.  Taking  all  employees,  we  find  that  while  in  the  so-called  $9 
shops  only  18  per  cent  of  the  employees  worked  by  the  piece  in  1912, 
they  constituted  over  one-third,  or  37  per  cent,  of  all  the  employees  in 
the  industry  as  a  whole.  In  the  case  of  operators,  the  difference  was 
even  more  striking,  the  proportion  of  pieceworkers  being  20  per  cent 
in  the  $9  shops  and  as  much  as  50  per  cent  in  the  entire  industry. 

A  clearer  idea  of  the  extent  of  piecework  and  week  work  in  the 
different  parts  of  the  industry  can  be  obtained  by  comparing  shops 
which  make  cheap  garments  with  those  manufacturing  high-grade 
garments. 

Tables  13  and  14,  which  follow,  contain  the  figures  for  six  large 
shops  in  each  class  of  the  industry,  respectively. 


38 


BULLETIN"   OF    THE   BUREAU    OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


T\BLE  13.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  WEEK  WORKERS  AND  PIECEWORKERS  IN  6 
SHOPS  MANUFACTURING  HIGH-GRADE  GARMENTS,  BY  OCCUPATIONS,  1912  AND 
1913. 


Occupation. 

1912 

1913 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Week 
work- 
ers. 

Piece- 
work- 
ers. 

Total. 

Week 
work- 
ers. 

Piece- 
work- 
ers. 

Week 
work- 
ers. 

Piece- 
work- 
ers. 

Total. 

Week 
work- 
ers. 

Piece- 
work- 
ers. 

Cleaners 

9 
32 
14 
20 
50 
6 
17 

9 
32 
14 
20 
93 
6 
39 

100 
100 
100 
100 
54 
100 
44 

8 
41 
15 
24 
60 
9 
16 

"  50 

8 
41 
15 
24 
110 
9 
16 

100 
100 
100 
100 
55 
100 
100 

45 

Cutters 

Embroiderers                         .  .  . 

Examiners 

Finishers                            

43 

46 

Drapers 

Ironers           

22 

56 

Total,  nonoperators  

148 

65 

213 

69 

50~ 
100 
100 

'"id 
""ii" 

31 

173 

1 

4 

50 

4 

223 

5^ 

4 
80 

78 

22 

Buttonhole  makers 

1 
3 

82 

1 

2 
3 
82 
34 
13 
75 
233 

50 

20 
100 
100 

80 

Hemstitchers  

Sample  makers 

"ioo" 

85 
100 
89 

80 

Skirt  operators  

34 
11 
75 
208 

Tuckers 

2 

2 

95 
254 

3 
95 

310 

67 

""is" 

33 

100 

82 

Waist  operators  

Operators  not  specified. 

25 

56 

Total,  operators 

113 
261 

329 
394 

442 

26 

74 
60 

143 

354 
404 

497 
720" 

29 

71 

Grand  total  .  . 

655  ;       40 

316 

44 

56 

TABLE  14 — NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  WEEK  WORKERS  AND  PIECEWORKERS  IN  6 
SHOPS  MANUFACTURING  LOW-GRADE  GARMENTS,  BY  OCCUPATIONS,  1912  AND 
1913. 


Occupation. 

1912 

1913 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Number.            i    Per  cent. 

Week 

work- 
ers. 

Piece- 
work- 
ers. 

Total. 

Week 
work- 
ers. 

Piece- 
work- 
ers. 

Week 
work- 
ers. 

Piece- 
work- 
ers. 

Total. 

Week 
work- 
ers. 

Piece- 
work- 
ers. 

Cleaners 

229 
45 
38 
4 
68 
1 

""5" 
27 

229 
45 
38 
9 
95 
1 

100 
IOO 
100 
44 
72 
100 

""56" 
28 

169 
42 
41 
28 
113 
4 

""22" 
13 

169 
42 
41 
50 
126 
4 

100 
100 
100 
56 
90 
100 

""44 
10 

Cutters 

Examiners  . 

Finishers  .  .     . 

Ironers... 

Markers  

Total,  nonoperators 

385 

13 
11 
12 
3 
16 
5 
18 
7 
46 
50 
644 

32 
"124" 

417 

13 
11 
12 
3 
16 
5 
18 
7 
46 
50 
768 

92 

8 

397 

35 

432 

8 
13 
22 
5 
17 
7 
20 
14 
51 
40 
703 

92 

100 
100 
91 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
98 
81 

8 
"  9 

""2 
19 

Buttonhole  makers  

100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
84 

""ie" 

8 
13 
20 
5 
17 
7 
20 
14 
51 
39 
566 

2 

..... 
137 

Button  sewers  

Closers  and  hemmers  ; 

Hemstitchers  

Lace  runners  

Sample  makers 

Sleeve  makers  

Sleeve  setters  

Trimmers  

Tuckers  

Operators,  not  specified  

Total,  operators 

825 
1,210 

124 

949 
1,366 

87 

sir 

13 

11 

760 
1,157 

140 

900 

84 

16 

Grand  total  

156 

175 

1,332 

87 

13 

A  comparison  of  the  figures  in  the  two  tables  is  striking.  It  shows 
that  in  1912,  prior  to  the  enactment  of  the  protocol,  60  per  cent,  or 
not  far  from  two- thirds,  of  all  the  employees  in  six  large  high-grade 
garment  shops  (Table  13)  were  paid  by  the  piece,  while  in  six  large 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       39 

low-grade  garment  shops  (Table  14)  only  11  per  cent,  or  about  one- 
tenth,  were  pieceworkers.  In  the  case  of  operators,  the  percentage 
of  pieceworkers  in  the  high-grade  shops  was  still  larger — namely,  74 
per  cent,  or  practically  three-fourths  of  all  the  operators — while  in  the 
low-grade  shops  it  was  only  13  per  cent.1  When  the  special  occupa- 
tions of  the  operators  are  considered,  it  is  found  that  there  were  no 
pieceworkers  whatever  among  buttonhole  makers,  closers  and  hem- 
mers,  sleeve  makers,  sleeve  setters,  or  tuckers  in  the  six  cheap-gar- 
ment shops,  while  in  the  six  high-grade  shops,  pieceworkers  numbered 
as  high  as  85  per  cent  of  the  tuckers,  50  per  cent  of  the  buttonhole 
makers,  89  per  cent  of  the  operators  not  specified,  and  100  per  cent 
of  the  waist  operators.  Not  all  the  shops,  of  course,  manufacturing 
low-grade  garments  had  such  a  percentage  of  pieceworkers,  as  has 
already  been  shown  in  commenting  on  the  figures  in  Table  12,  but 
the  significance  of  the  above  figures  lies  in  the  tendency  they  disclose 
for  the  prevalence  of  week  work  in  the  shops  manufacturing  low- 
grade  garments  and  the  predominance  of  piecework  at  the  other  end 
of  the  industry. 

In  insisting,  therefore,  on  the  adoption  of  the  piece-rate  system 
throughout  the  industry,  the  union  attempted  to  raise  the  conditions 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  industry  to  what  they  had  already  been  at  the 
higher  end  before  the  signing  of  the  protocol. 

WAGES. 
METHOD  OF  OBTAINING  WAGE  DATA. 

The  ideal  way  of  ascertaining  the  wages  of  workers  in  any  industry 
is  to  find  out  their  total  earnings  for  an  entire  year.  This  is  especially 
true  of  the  garment  industries  which  fluctuate  with  the  seasons, 
alternating  between  periods  of  highest  activity  and  weeks  of  absolute 
stagnation.  The  technical  difficulties,  however,  in  the  way  of 
obtaining  the  data  as  to  the  earnings  of  each  of  the  30,000  workers  for 
an  entire  year  proved  no  less  serious  in  this  case  than  in  all  wage 
investigations  in  which  such  an  attempt  has  ever  been  made,  and  the 
investigation  as  to  individual  earnings  had  to  be  confined  to  those 
during  the  busiest  week  of  the  year,  that  is,  the  week  showing  the 
maximum  number  of  employees.  In  order  to  obtain  a  comparison 
of  the  wages  prevailing  before  and  after  the  protocol,  the  figures 
were  taken  for  the  busiest  week  in  1912  and  1913,  respectively. 
The  investigation  for  1913  was  confined  to  the  spring  season,  so  that 
in  every  case  the  busiest  week  in  1913  means  the  busiest  week  in  the 

1  The  figure  of  60  per  cent  for  the  six  high-grade  shops  was  obtained  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  in  the  six 
shops  was  included  one  high-grade  nonassociation  shop,  which  's  an  exception  to  the  rule,  inasmuch  as  it 
employs  week  workers  exclusively.  If  a  typical  high-grade  association  shop  were  substituted  in  its  place, 
the  proportion  of  pieceworkers  would  probably  amount  to  at  least  75  per  cent  of  all  the  workers  and  to  a 
still  higher  percentage  of  the  operators. 


40  BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

spring  of  1913,1  while  for  1912  the  busiest  week  of  the  year  was  taken, 
whether  spring  or  fall.  In  a  great  many  cases  there  were  no  records 
of  individual  earnings  for  the  spring  of  1912  and  those  for  the  fall 
had  to  be  taken. 

The  object  of  taking  the  busiest  week  was  to  secure  information 
for  the  largest  possible  number  of  workers  employed  in  the  industry. 
It  is  well  known,  however,  that  earnings  at  the  height  of  the  season 
are  much  greater  than  at  other  times  'of  the  year.  It  would,  there- 
fore, be  erroneous  to  draw  the  conclusion  that  the  annual  earnings 
of  the  workers  are  approximately  equal  to  50  times  the  earnings 
during  the  busiest  week.  Apart  from  the  weeks  when  the  workers 
are  entirely  idle,  there  are  months  when  the  weekly  earnings  are 
considerably  less  than  during  the  busiest  week  of  the  year.  In  the 
case  of  week  workers,  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  overcome  this 
difficulty  by  presenting  in  this  report  the  weekly  rates  of  wages 
rather  than  their  earnings.  But  even  these  rates  are  in  many  instances 
higher  at  the  height  of  the  season  than  at  other  times  of  the  year. 

But  in  the  case  of  pieceworkers,  there  being  no  regular  weekly 
rates  and  no  record  being  kept  at  the  factories  of  the  hours  they  are  at 
work,  total  earnings  during  the  week,  including  overtime,  had  neces- 
sarily to  be  taken. 

There  was  but  one  means  left  to  get  at  an  approximate  estimate  of 
annual  earnings  and  that  was  by  ascertaining  the  regularity  of  em- 
ployment in  the  industry.  This  was  done  and  the  results  are  dis- 
cussed in  detail  on  pages  160  and  161.  As  already  pointed  out  the 
principal  conclusion  from  the  figures  relating  to  regularity  of  employ- 
meat,  as  shown  by.  Table  68,  is  that  the  average  weekly  earnings  of 
workers  in  the  entire  industry  is  73  per  cent  of  their  earnings  during 
the  busiest  week  of  the  year  and  for  the  different  branches  of  the 
industry  is  as  follows:  Association  A,  67  per  cent;  association  B,  71 
per  cent;  nonassociation  A,  53  per  cent;  nonassociation  B,  44  per  cent. 
This  furnishes  the  key  to  an  approximate  estimate  of  the  annual 
earnings  of  the  various  groups  of  workers  from  the  earnings  given 
in  the  following  pages  for  the  busiest  week  of  the  year. 

METHOD  OF  PRESENTATION  OF  WAGE  DATA. 

As  has  already  been  pointed  out  in  discussing  Table  9,  there  are 
some  occupations  in  the  industry  in  which  only  women  or  only  men 
are  employed;  cleaners  or  finishers  furnish  an  illustration  of  the  for- 
mer, cutters  of  the  latter.  In  most  of  the  occupations,  however, 
both  men  and  women  are  employed.  The  same  is  true  as  to  piece- 
workers and  week  workers.  As  in  the  same  occupation  wages  will 
differ  according  to  sex  and  according  to  whether  the  workers  are  paid 
by  the  week  or  the  piece,  the  wages  are  presented  under  each  of  these 

1  In  a  few  cases  there  were  no  records  for  any  week  of  1913  and  the  manufacturers  concerned  were 
asked  to  keep  a  record  for  the  ensuing  week,  which  may  not  have  been  the  busiest  week.  But  the 
number  of  such  casas  did  not  exceed  10,  all  of  them  small  shops. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DKESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.       41 

four  heads:  (1)  Pieceworkers,  male;  (2)  Pieceworkers,  female;  (3) 
week  workers,  male;  (4)  week  workers,  female. 

But  few  averages  will  be  found  in  connection  with  the  wage  statis- 
tics in  this  report.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  averages  are  very 
misleading  in  cases  where  there  is  a  wide  range  of  figures.  An 
illustration  will  make  this  clear.  If  wages  in  a  certain  occupation 
varied  from,  say,  $10  to  $15,  an  average  of  $12.50  would  not  be  very 
far  from  either  extreme;  for  the  $12.50  worker,  while  better  off 
than  the  $10  worker  and  not  so  well  to  do  as  the  $15  worker,  would  be 
found  maintaining  a  standard  of  life  not  differing  very  much  from 
either  of  the  other  two.  But  where,  as  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry, 
the  range  of  wages  takes  in  a  great  variety  of  standards  varying  all 
the  way  from  $3  to  $30  a  week,  an  average  of,  say,  $16  a  week  would 
be  utterly  misleading  both  as  to  the  $3  as  well  as  to  the  $30  a  week 
workers.  A  better  way,  therefore,  of  summing  up  the  wage  data 
for  the  different  occupations,  it  was  thought,  would  be  found  by  divid- 
ing the  wage  data  for  each  occupation  into  a  number  of  groups  and 
by  showing  the  number  of  people  in  each  group  and  the  percentage 
they  form  of  the  total.  As  it  is  important  both  to  the  employers 
and  the  employees  to  have  the  information  in  as  much  detail  as  prac- 
ticable, the  number  of  groups  has  been  made  quite  large,  namely, 
18.  The  lowest  group  is  that  of  workers  getting  under  $3  a  week; 
the  next  includes  those  earning  from  $3  to  less  than  $4;  the  next 
from  $4  to  less  than  $5  and  so  on  by  $1  steps  until  $10  a  week  is 
reached,  when  each  group  is  made  to  cover  a  range  of  $2.  From 
$20  on,  the  groups  advance  by  $2.50  each  until  $30  a  week  is  reached, 
all  workers  earning  $30  a  week  or  over  being  put  together. 

These  data  are  presented  for  the  association  and  the  nonassociation 
shops  separately.  Moreover,  in  view  of  the  wide  range  of  goods 
manufactured  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry,  it  was  found  necessary, 
as  already  stated,  to  divide  the  industry  into  at  least  two  groups; 
one,  called  A,  representing  the  shops  manufacturing  the  cheaper 
garments;  the  other,  called  B,  comprising  the  shops  which  turn  out 
the  higher  grade  of  garments.  While  there  are  a  great  many  more 
distinct  kinds  of  shops,  it  was  found  impracticable  to  divide  the  in- 
dustry into  more  than  two  groups,  owing  to  the  fact  that  but  few 
shops  confine  themselves  to  the  manufacture  of  one  grade  of  garments, 
the  number  of  grades  being  usually  so  large  that  any  attempt  to 
divide  the  industry  into  more  than  two  groups  would  result  in  so 
much  overlapping  in  individual  shops  as  to  make  classification  impos- 
sible. The  line  of  demarcation  adopted  for  the  two  groups  is  as 
follows:  (1)  Group  B,  which  consists  of  shops  manufacturing  cotton 
waists  selling  at  wholesale  for  not  less  than  $16.50  per  dozen,  silk 
waists  selling  at  not  less  than  $27  per  dozen,  and  dresses  selling  at 
not  less  than  $5  apiece;  (2)  Group  A,  which  includes  shops  man- 
ufacturing garments  which  sell  at  prices  below  those  mentioned 


42  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

above.  Even  under  this  broad  classification,  a  good  deal  of  over- 
lapping has  proved  unavoidable.  Thus,  if  a  shop  devotes  itself 
exclusively  to  $9-a-dozen  waists,  it  clearly  belongs  in  Group  A, 
while  one  manufacturing  waists  selling  from  $16.50  to  $24  a  dozen 
would  clearly  belong  to  Group  B.  On  the  other  hand,  a  shop  manu- 
facturing waists  selling  from  $9  to  $24,  though  it  has  a  range 
which  takes  in  both  classes,  has  been  classed  with  Group  A.  The 
reason  for  this  classification  is  that  the  cheapest  garment  made  usu- 
ally determines  the  character  of  the  work  done  in  a  shop.  If  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  cheap  garments  is  made  in  the  shop,  the  char- 
acter of  the  help  employed  will  be  of  a  different  kind  from  that 
employed  in  a  shop  in  which  no  cheap  garments,  or  very  few  of  them, 
are  being  made.  A  shop  making  chiefly  $9  and  $16.50  waists  has 
its  help  trained  to  pay  more  attention  to  quantity  of  output  than  to 
qualit}^.  If  it  adds  a  $24  line  to  its  products,  the  character  of  the 
work  on  the  $24  a  dozen  waists  will  not  differ  from  that  on  the  $16.50 
or  $9  waists,  the  difference  between  the  two  being  solely  that  of 
material,  a  greater  amount  of  lace,  embroidery,  and  other  trimmings, 
requiring  in  turn  a  greater  amount  of  labor,  though  not  a  higher 
grade  of  workmanship.  On  the  other  hand,  a  shop  which  special- 
izes on  waists  selling  from  $24  to  $48  or  $60  a  dozen  may  manu- 
facture also  some  of  the  cheaper  kind  to  supply  a  limited  demand 
from  the  stores  which  buy  chiefly  the  high-grade  garments.  This 
shop  will  not  employ  special  help  for  the  cheaper  garments,  and, 
therefore,  the  workmanship  on  its  $16.50  waists  will  be  the  same  as 
on  the  higher-priced  garments,  the  difference  being  in  the  quality  of 
the  material,  in  the  elimination  of  most  of  the  trimmings,  saving 
cost  of  material  and  labor,  etc. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  overlapping 
between  the  A  and  B  shops,  due  to  the  fact  that  shops  in  either  group 
are  found  to  manufacture  garments  selling  at  the  same  price,  is  more 
apparent  than  real,  the  fundamental  distinction  being  that  of  the 
character  of  the  workmanship  which  is  but  roughly  reflected  in  the 
selling  price,  the  latter  being  unfortunately  the  only  tangible  criterion 
by  which  we  can  distinguish  between  the  two. 

The  breaking  up  of  the  wage  data  first  into  25  distinct  groups 
according  to  occupation;  then,  into  two  groups  according  to  sex, 
where  more  than  one  sex  is  employed;  then  again  into  piecework  and 
week-work  groups  in  occupations  where  both  methods  of  compen- 
sation are  in  vogue;  and  then  again  into  four  groups,  association  A, 
association  B,  nonassociation  A,  and  nonassociation  B,  while  securing 
a  very  detailed  presentation  of  the  wage  data,  may  be  open  to  the 
criticism  of  failing  to  give  a  comprehensive  and  easily  understood 
presentation  of  the  wage  situation  in  the  industry.  The  need  of  such 
presentation  has  been  recognized  by  providing  general  summaries 
both  in  the  tables,  where  this  was  possible,  and  throughout  the  text 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DBESS   AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY.       43 

ill  discussing;   the  wages   of   each  occupation   and   in   the  summary 
chapter  of  this  report. 

OPERATORS. 
OCCUPATIONS  OF  OPERATORS. 

By  an  .operator  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry  is  meant  any  person 
working  on  a  sewing  machine.  Operating  work  is  not  done  with  any 
uniformity  in  the  industry.  In  the  shops  making  cheap  waists  the 
work  is  divided  to  an  extreme,  each  operator  working  on  some  small 
part  of  the  garment  and  frequently  specializing  on  only  one  particular 
seam  in  the  garment,  one  closing  the  sides  of  the  waist,  another  one 
doing  the  hemming,  a  third  sewing  lace  (lace  running),  a  fourth 
closing  the  shoulders,  etc.  Sometimes  even  this  work  is  further  sub- 
divided. Thus,  if  a  French  seam  is  used  in  closing  the  sides  of  a 
waist,  one  operator  wih1  make  the  first  seam,  joining  the  front  and 
back  parts  of  the  waist  on  the  right  side,  while  the  other  operator 
will  trim  off  the  raw  edge  and  turn  over  the  waist  to  put  in  the  second 
seam  on  the  wrong  side.  Sometimes  a  girl  is  employed  especially  to 
do  the  work  of  cutting  off  the  raw  edge.  Subdivision  of  work  in  the 
other  parts  of  the  garment  is  also  practiced  to  a  great  extent. 

In  shops  making  medium-priced  garments  or  cheap  garments  on  a 
piece-rate  basis,  it  is  customary  to  have  "body  makers."  These  are 
operators  who  make  up  the  body  of  the  waist  (joining  the  shoulders, 
tacking  the  fronts  and  backs,  making  the  centers,  i.  e.,  the  button- 
hole and  button  pieces,  and  sometimes  sewing  on  the  collar).  In 
that  case,  there  will  still  be  considerable  subdivision  of  labor,  since 
the  closer  and  hemmer  will  close  the  waist  on  the  sides  and  hem  the 
bottom;  the  sleeve  maker  will  make  the  sleeves;  the  sleeve  setter  will 
set  the  sleeves  into  the  waist;  the  tucker  will  make  the  tucks;  the 
buttonhole  maker  will  make  the  buttonholes;  the  button  sewer  will 
sew  on  the  buttons;  the  hemstitcher  will  do  the  hemstitching:  the 
skirt  maker  will  make  the  skirt  (if  dresses  are  made  in  addition  to 
waists),  and  the  joiner  will  join  the  waist  and  skirt  into  a  dress. 
Moreover,  all  the  finer  work  which  goes  to  set  off  the  waist,  the  sewing 
on  of  the  trimmings,  laces,  and  embroideries  will  be  done  by  "trim- 
mers," so  far  as  it  is  not  simple  enough  to  be  done  by  lace  runners. 

In x  the  high-grade  shops  where  dresses- and  gowns  are  made,  the 
subdivision  of  labor  is  still  less,  the  operator  or  dressmaker  making 
practically  the  entire  garment  in  so  far  as  sewing  on  the  machine 
is  concerned,  and  in  addition  to  that  in  many  cases  doing  her  own 
draping  instead  of  having  that  part  of  the  work  done  by  a  draper. 
The  hemming  of  the  bottom  of  the  skirt,  the  sewing  on  of  the  hooks 
and  eyes,  belts,  and  trimmings — in  fact,  all  of  the  work  that  is  to 
be  done  by  hand — is  done  in  these  shops  by  finishers. 

From  what  has  just  been  said  it  will  be  clear  why  the  designation 
of  operators  lacks  uniformity  on  the  pay  rolls  in  the  different  shops. 


44  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

In  some  shops  everybody  who  works  at  a  sewing  machine  is  called 
an  operator,  and  the  term  will  include  the  entire  range  of  workers 
from  $4  or  $5  a  week  beginners  to  the  highest  grade  dressmakers. 
In  other  shops,  usually  those  in  which  the  subdivision  of  labor  is 
greatest,  the  operators  are  designated  separately  according  to  the 
special  wrork  they  do,  but  even  in  these  shops  it  will  frequently  happen 
that  in  the  case  of  some  of  the  workers,  say,  lace  runners,  half  will  be 
designated  as  such  and  the  other  half  as  operators.  In  view  of  this 
fact,  the  numbers  of  the  various  classes  of  operators  given  in  this 
report  should  not  be  taken  as  complete.  But  the  combined  number 
of  operators  of  all  kinds  may  be  considered  as  fairly  accurate.  This 
makes  it  necessary  to  combine  the  earnings  of  all  the  operators 
into  one  group  and  discuss  the  changes  which  have  occurred,  con- 
sidering in  one  group  wrorkers  of  such  widely  differing  degrees  of 
skill  as  distinguish  a  lace  runner  from  a  high-class  dressmaker.  At 
the  same  time,  these  figures  will  be  helpful  for  comparative  purposes 
both  as  between  1912  and  1913  and  as  between  the  different  branches 
of  the  industry.  Below  is  presented,  therefore,  an  analysis  of  the 
wages  of  operators  as  a  whole,  followed  by  a  separate  presentation 
for  the  different  divisions  of  operators  mentioned  above. 

NUMBER  AND  CLASSES  COVERED  BY  THE  REPORT. 

As  shown  by  Table  8,  records  were  found  for  16,418  operators 
in  1913  and  13,771  in  1912.  This  does  not  mean  that  there  were 
2,647  more  operators  in  1913  than  in  1912,  but  that  information 
as  to  wages  was  available  for  so  many  more  operators  in  1913  than  in 
1912.  Of  those  found  in  1913,  2,425  were  men  and  13,993  were 
women,  the  number  of  men  constituting  15  per  cent  and  of  women 
85  per  cent  of  all  the  operators.  This  shows  that  the  overwhelming 
majority  of  the  operators  are  women,  who  outnumber  the  men 
more  than  5  to  1,  the  men  specializing  only  in  a  few  trades,  such  as 
buttonhole  making,  skirt  operating,  sleeve  setting,  and  tucking. 
As  regards  pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  Table  9  shows  that  the 
division  is  about  even  among  the  women,  there  being  7,057  piece- 
workers and  6,936  week  workers,  or  practically  the  same  number 
in  each  class.  Among  the  men,  however,  the  number  of  pieceworkers 
greatly  exceeds  that  of  week  workers,  being  1,508  for  the  piece- 
workers as  against  917  for  the  week  workers. 

WAGES  OF  OPERATORS. 

In  presenting  the  wages  of  operators  the  same  general  plan  has 
been  followed  as  for  other  workers  employed  in  considerable  numbers, 
the  figures  being  shown  separately  for  week  workers  and  pieceworkers. 
Under  each  of  these  general  classes  tables  are  given  showing  for 
each  sex  the  number  and  per  cent  of  operators  receiving  each  classi- 
fied rate  of  wages,  both  in  the  industry  as  a  whole  and  in  shops 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       45 


making  cheap  garments.  Similar  tables  are  next  presented  for 
operators  employed  in  association  and  nonassociation  shops.  A 
further  subdivision  shows  the  wages  of  female  operators  and  of  male 
operators  in  each  of  the  four  classes  of  shops — namely,  shops  desig- 
nated as  association  A,  association  B,  nonassociation  A,  and  non- 
association  B. 

COMPARISON   OF   WAGES   OF    MEN    AND    WOMEN   OPERATORS  IN  THE  INDUSTRY   AS 

A   WHOLE. 

Week  workers. 

As  explained  elsewhere  in  this  report,  the  figures  of  the  wages  of 
week  workers  given  in  the  tables  which  follow  represent  weekly 
rates.  They  take  into  account  neither  the  time  lost  during  the 
week  nor  the  extra  work  done  during  overtime.  In  other  words, 
.when  an  operator  is  placed  in  the  $9-a-week  group  it  means  that  this 
is  his  or  her  regular  weekly  rate  of  pay,  although  during  that  par- 
ticular week  he  may  have  worked  only  four  days  and  earned  $6 
or  have  worked  overtime  and  earned  more  than  $10.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  wages  of  pieceworkers  reported  are  the  actual  earnings 
during  the  busiest  week  of  the  year. 

The  number  and  per  cent  of  male  and  of  female  operators,  week 
workers,  receiving  each  classified  rate  of  wages  in  1912  and  1913 
aro  shown  for  the  industry  as  a  whole  in  Table  15,  which  follows: 

TABLE  15.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  MALE  AND  FEMALE  OPERATORS,  WEEK 
WORKERS,  IN  THE  INDUSTRY*  AS  A  WHOLE,  RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE 
OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913. 


Classified  rates  of  wages  per  week. 

Number. 

Per  cent  receiving  each  classified 
rate. 

Females. 

Males. 

Females. 

Males. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3... 

9 
53 
204 
299 
432 
541 
564 
615 
1,  160 
1,136 
672 
196 
93 
24 
6 
4 
1 
1 

0.1 
.9 
3.4 
5.0 
7.2 
9.0 
9.  -4 
10.2 
19.3 
18.9 
11.2 
3.3 
1.5 
.4 
.1 

2.1 

$3  to  $3.99 

15 
121 

228 
457 
621 
633 
606 
1,284 
1,264 
1,056 
362 
136 
47 
4 
4 

3 
10 
15 
12 

18 
33 
34 
84 
146 
181 
83 
61 
37 
9 
5 

1 
6 
13 
32 
30 
36 
34 
74 
139 
199 
143 
111 
69 
17 
6 
3 
1 

0.2 
1.8 
3.3 
6.7 
9.1 
9.3 
8.9 
18.8 
18.5 
15.4 
5.3 
2.0 
.7 
i.l 

0.4 
1.4 
2.0 
1.6 
2.5 
4.5 
4.6 
11.5 
19.9 
24.7 
11.3 
8.3 
5.0 
1.2 
.7 

0.1 
.7 
1.4 
3.5 
3.3 
3.9 
3.7 
8.1 
15.2 
21.8 
15.6 
12.1 
7.5 
1.9 
.7 
.3 
.1 

$4  to  $4.99 

$5  to  $5.  99... 

$6  to  $6.99... 

$7  to  $7.99 

$8  to  $8.99  

$9  to  $9.99.   .   . 

$10  to  $11.  99 

$12  to  $13.99.  .  . 

$14  to  $15.99  

$16  to  $17.99 

$18  to  $19.99 

$20  to  $22.49  

$22.50  to  $24.99... 

$25  to  $27.49 

$27.50  to  $29  99 

$30  and  over  

2 

2 

.3 

Total.. 

3  6,  010 

36,840 

3733 

3914 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

1  Including  $22.50  and  over. 

2  Including  $25  and  over. 

3  Not  including  a  number  of  week  workers.    These  are  indicated  in  Tables  26  to  48,  showing  the  num- 
ber of  week  workers  and  pieceworkers  in  different  wage  groups  for  each  occupation. 


46  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

Taking  the  figures  in  Table  15,  the  remarkable  fact  is  noted  that 
although  the  number  of  men  operators  was  only  914  as  against  6,840 
women  in  1913,  making  a  ratio  of  more  than  7  women  to  1  man,  yet 
there  were  a  great  many  more  men  earning  $20  a  week  and  over  than 
there  were  women,  namely,  96  men  as  against  only  57  women.  The 
disparity  in  numbers  is  even  more  striking  when  expressed  in  per- 
centages of  each  class  of  workers;  the  number  of  women  receiving 
$20  and  over  constituted  0.8  per  cent  of  all  the  women  week  workers, 
while  the  men  in  the  corresponding  groups  formed  10.5  per  cent  of  all 
the  men  week  workers.  If  the  line  is  drawn  at  $14  a  week,  it  is  found 
from  the  tabJe  that  in  the  case  of  all  the  workers  receiving  less  than 
$14  a  week  the  percentage  of  women  exceeds  that  of  men,  the  lower 
the  wages  the  greater  being  the  excess  of  women  over  men.  From 
$14  and  up  the  relation  between  the  two  is  reversed,  the  proportion 
of  men  exceeding  that  of  women  and  increasing  as  the  weekly  rates 
advance.  Thus  the  number  of  those  receiving  $12  to  $13.99  consti- 
tuted 18.5  per  cent  of  the  women  and  15.2  per  cent  of  the  men.  The 
next  lower  group,  $10  to  $11.99,  included  18.8  per  cent  of  the  women 
and  only  8.1  per  cent  of  the  men. 

Starting  with  the  group  of  $14  to  $15.99  a  week,  it  is  found  that  in 
1913  the  women  formed  15.4  per  cent  of  all  the  women  week  workers, 
while  the  men  comprised  21.8  per  cent  of  male  week  workers. 
Employees  getting  $16  to  $17.99  a  week  comprised  5.3  per  cent  of 
the  women  and  15.6  per  cent  of  the  men;  those  getting  from  $18  to 
$19.99  formed  2  per  cent  of  the  women  and  12.1  per  cent  of  the  men; 
those  getting  from  $20  to  $22.49  a  week  comprised  0.7  per  cent  of  the 
women  and  7.5  per  cent  of  the  men. 

The  preceding  figures  may  be  summed  up  as  follows:  The  propor- 
tion of  workers  in  1913  receiving  wages  of  less  than  $6  a  week  formed 
over  5  per  cent  among  the  women  and  over  2  per  cent  among  the 
men.  Those  earning  $6  and  less  than  $10  a  week  constituted  nearly 
34  per  cent,  or  more  than  one- third  of  all  the  women,  and  over  14  per 
cent,  or  one-seventh,  of  all  the  men.  Nearly  53  per  cent,  or  more  than 
half  of  all  the  women  week  workers,  received  wages  of  $10  and  less 
than  $16  a  week,  the  proportion  of  men  in  the  corresponding  wage 
groups  being  a  little  over  45  per  cent,  or  less  than  one-half,  while  8 
per  cent  of  all  the  women  and  38.2  per  cent  of  the  men  received  $16 
and  over  per  week. 

Table  1 6,  which  follows,  gives  similar  figures  for  operators  working 
by  the  week  in  shops  manufacturing  garments  of  a  cheap  grade 
exclusively. 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS    AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       47 


TABLE  16.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  MALE  AND  FEMALE  OPERATORS,  WEEK 
WORKERS,  RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  IN  SHOPS 
MANUFACTURING  GARMENTS  SELLING  TO  RETAIL  STORES  AT  $9  PER  DOZEN  EXCLU- 
SIVELY, 1912  AND  1913. 


Classified  rates  of  wages  per  week. 

Number. 

Per  cent  receiving  each  classified 
rate. 

Females. 

Males. 

Females. 

Males. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

2 
15 
70 
80 
142 
158 
121 
119 
145 
57 
23 

1 

0.2 

$3  to  S3  99                                

6 
24 
58 
156 
229 
187 
153 
252 
94 
50 

1 

8 
8 
6 
8 
12 
13 
28 
36 
43 
15 
2 
3 

2 
3 
7 
13 

20 
16 

13 
18 
48 
37 
40. 
8 
8 

1.6 
7.5 
8.6 
15.2 
16.9 
13.0 
12.7 
15.5 
6.1 
2.5 
.1 
.1 

0.5 
2.0 
4.8 
12.8 
18.8 
15.4 
12.6 
20.7 
7.7 
4.1 
.4 

0.5 
4.4 
4.4 
3.  3 
4.4 
6.5 
7.1 
15.3 
19.7 
23.5 
8.2 
1.1 
1.6 

0.9 
1.3 
3.0 
5.6 
8.5 
6.8 
5.6 
7.7 
20.5 
15.8 
17.1 
3.4 
3.4 

$4  to  $4  99 

$5  to  $5.99                           

$6  to  $6  99                                  

$7  to  $7  99 

$8  to  $8.99            

$9  to  S9  99                       .              

$10  to  $11  99 

$12  to  $13.99        

$14  to  $15.99                            

$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19  99 

$20  to  $22  49 

.1 

$22  50  to  $24  99 

$25  to  $27.49  



1 

.4 

Total  

934 

1,215 

183 

234 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

Pieceworkers. 

It  is  interesting  to  see  how  the  difference  in  the  earnings  of  men  and 
women  week  workers  compares  with  that  of  pieceworkers.  Table  17 
contains  an  answer  to  this  question. 

TABLE  17.-NUMBER  AND  PERCENT  OF  MALE  AND  FEMALE  OPERATORS,  PIECE- 
WORKERS, IN  THE  INDUSTRY  AS  A  WHOLE,  EARNING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT 
DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR,  1912  AND  1913. 


Classified  earnings  per  week. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Females.                 Males. 

Females. 

Males. 

1912 

1913         1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3... 

195 
105 
142 
181 
242 
292 
384 
467 
912 
1,134 
684 
444 
362 
231 
178 
75 
45 
45 

160 

83 
101 
136 
166 
236 
310 
374 
974 
1,044 
968 
865 
590 
491 
321 
159 
96 
79 

14 
8 
7 
11 
10 
22 
32 
31 
76, 
71 
90 
88 
86 
94 
65 
72 
51 
82 

8 
14 
13 
6 
17 
17 
32 
31 
97 
112 
157 
170 
167 
186 
170 
114 
65 
135 

3.2 
1.7 
2.3 
3.0 
4.0 
4.8 
6.3 
7.6 
14.9 
18.5 
11.2 
7.3 
5.9 
3.8 
2.9 
1.2 
.7 
.7 

2.2 
1.2 
1.4 
1.9 
2.3 
3.3 
4.3 
5.2 
13.6 
14.6 
13.5 
12.1 
8.2 
6.9 
4.5 
2.2 
1.3 
1.1 

1.5 
.9 
.8 
1.2 
1.1 
2.4 
3.5 
3.4 
8.4 
7.8 
9.9 
9.7 
9.5 
10.3 
7.1 
7.9 
5.6 
9.0 

0.5 
.9 
.9 
.4 
1.1 
1.1 
2.1 
2.1 
6.4 
7.4 
10.4 
11.3 
11.1 
12.3 
11.3 
7.5 
4.3 
8.9 

$3  to  $3  99 

$4  to  $4.99  

$5  to  S5.99                     .   .   . 

$6  to  $6  99 

$1  to  $7.99  

$8  to  $8.99  

$9  to  89  99 

$10  to  $11.99  

$12  to  $13.99  

$14  to  $15.99  

$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19.99  

$20  to  $22.49  

$22.50  to  $24  99 

$25toS27.49... 

$27.50  to  $29.99  

$30  and  over 

Total 

i  6,  118 

i  7,  153  '      i  910 

j 

i  1,511 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

1  Including  a  number  of  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  rates  of  wages  could  he  ascertained. 
These  are  indicated  in  Tables  26  to  48  showing  the  number  of  week  workers  and  pieceworkers  in  the 
different  wage  groups  for  each  occupation. 

While  the  same  general  rule  holds  good  of  the  pieceworkers  as 
of  the  week  workers,  that  a  greater  proportion  of  men  than  of  women 
are  employed  in  the  higher-paid  wage  groups,  and  that  a  higher 
proportion  of  women  than  of  men  are  employed  in  the  lower  wage 


48 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR    STATISTICS. 


groups,  the  line  of  demarcation  among  the  pieceworkers  begins  at 
$18  a  week  instead  of  $14,  as  was  found  to  be  the  case  among  the 
week  workers.  Thus  the  group  of  $18  to  $19.99  a  week  contained  8.2 
per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  women  in  1913  and  only  11.1  per  cent 
of  the  men,  the  difference  between  the  proportion  of  men  and  women 
increasing  as  the  wages  increase.  Below  $18  the  contrary  was  the 
case.  The  proportion  of  women  employed  in  the  $16  to  $17.99  group 
was  12.1  per  cent  of  all  women  as  against  11.3  per  cent  for  the  men; 
in  the  $14  to  15.99  group,  13.6  per  cent  of  all  women  and  10.4  per  cent 
of  all  men,  and  so  on  down  the  scale  of  wages.  The  percentage  of 
women  earning  $18  a  week  and  over  was  24.2  per  cent,  while  for 
men  the  percentage  was  55.4  per  cent.  That  is  to  say,  while  more 
than  half  of  all  the  men  operators  working  by  the  piece  earned  $18 
and  over  during  the  busiest  week  of  1913,  the  proportion  of  women 
earning  the  same  wages  was  less  than  one-fourth.  The  number  of 
women  pieceworkers  earning  less  than  $6  a  week  formed  6.6  per  cent 
of  all  the  women  pieceworkers,  while  among  the  men  it  amounted  to 
2.7  per  cent;  15.1  per  cent  of  the  women  pieceworkers  earned  $6  and 
less  than  $10  a  week,  while  the  number  of  men  in  the  corresponding 
group  constituted  only  6.4  per  cent;  53.8  per  cent,  or  more  than  half 
of  the  women,  earned  $10  and  less  than  $18  a  week,  while  the  number 
of  men  in  the  corresponding  group  was  35.5  per  cent,  or  about  one- 
third  of  all  the  men. 

Table  18,  which  follows,  gives  similar  figures  showing  number  and 
per  cent  of  pieceworkers  earning  each  classified  amount  in  shops 
manufacturing  a  cheap  grade  of  garments: 

TABLE  18.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  MALE  AND  FEMALE  OPERATORS,  PIECE- 
WORKERS, EARNING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF 
THE  YEAR,  IN  SHOPS  MANUFACTURING  GARMENTS  SELLING  WHOLESALE  AT  $9 
PER  DOZEN  EXCLUSIVELY,  1912  AND  1913. 


Classified  earnings  per  week. 

Number. 

Per  cent  earning  each  classified 
rate. 

Female. 

Male. 

Female. 

Male. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

4.2 
1.4 
1.4 
2.8 
3.9 
3.5 
7.4 
7.7 
16.5 
14.8 
15.8 
7.4 
4.9 
3.5 
1.8 
1.4 
.7 
.7 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

8 

8 
7 
9 
17 
24 
26 
37 
27 
10 
7 
4 
1 
1 
1 

12 
4 
4 
8 
11 
10 
21 
22 
47 
42 
45 
21 
14 
10 
5 
4 
2 
2 

1 
2 
5 
3 
2 
2 
3 
4 
10 
9 
11 
10 
9 
13 
4 
3 
5 
7 

1 

4 
2 
1 
4 
7 
8 

4.3 
.5 
4.3 
3.7 
4.8 
9.0 
-     12.8 
13.8 
19.7 
14.4 
5.3 
3.7 
2.1 
.5 
.5 
.5 

1.0 
1.9 
4.9 
2.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.9 
3.9 
9.7 
8.7 
10.7 
9.7 
8.7 
12.6 
3.9 
2.9 
4.9 
6.8 

0.5 
2.1 
1.0 
.5 
2.1 
3.7 
4.2 

"~5."  2 
7.9 
9.9 
9.4 
8.4 
10.5 
16.8 
4.7 
5.8 
7.3 

$3  to  $3.99  ,  .  .  . 

$4  to  84.  99  

$5  to  $5.99 

$8  to  $3.99  

$7  to  $7.99  

$8  to  $8  99 

$9  to  $9.99  

$10  to  $11.99  

10 
15 
19 
18 
16 
20 
32 
9 
11 
14 

$12  to  S13.99 

$14  to  $15  99 

$16  to  $17.99  

$18  to  S19.99 

$20  to  $22  49 

$22.50  to  $24.  99... 

$25  to  $27.49  

$27.50  to  $29.99. 

$30  and  over 

Total  

188 

284 

103 

191 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.       49 


COMPARISON   OF    WAGES   OF   MEN   AND    WOMEN   OPERATORS   IN    ASSOCIATION   AND 

NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS. 

Week  Workers. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  comparative  weekly  rates  of  wages  of 
men  and  women  operators,  week  workers,  in  the  industry  as  a  whole 
is  likewise  true  if  the  association  and  nonassociation  shops  are  con- 
sidered separately.  The  figures  for  these  are  given  in  Table  19, 
which  follows : 

TABLE  19.-NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  MALE  AND  FEMALE  OPERATORS,  WEEK 
WORKERS,  IN  ASSOCIATION  AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS,  RECEIVING  EACH  CLAS- 
SIFIED RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  rates  of  wages  per  week. 

Association  shops. 

Nonassociation  shops. 

Females. 

Males. 

Females. 

Males. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

9 
46 
186 
276 
354 
445 
456 
488 
939 
960 
588 
168 
78 
17 
4 
3 
1 
1 

$3  to  83.99     .                        

11 
93 
167 
328 
424 
443 
412 
888 
922 
840 
286 
114 
28 
2 
1 

3 
8 
12 
8 
15 
29 
25 
63 
122 
141 
64 
£3 
25 
9 
4 

1 
4 
6 
22 
23 
20 
26 
48 
79 
142 
91 
66 
39 
7 
5 
3 

7 
18 
23 
78 
96 
108 
127 
222 
176 
84 
28 
14 
7 
2 
1 

4 
28 
61 
129 
197 
190 
194 
396 
342 
216 
76 
22 
19 
2 
3 

$4  to  4.99 

2 
3 
4 
3 
4 
9 
21 
24 
40 
19 
8 
12 

2 
7 
10 
7 
16 
8 
26 
60 
57 
52 
45 
30 
10 
1 

$5  to  85  S9 

$6  to  86.99  

$7  to  87.99            

§8  to  S8.99 

89  to  S9.99  

$10  to  811.99 

$12  to  813.99 

814  to  $15.99  

$16  to  $17.99. 

$18  to  $19.99 

$20  to  822.  49  

$22.£0  to  S24.99 

$25  to  $27.49  

1 

$27.£0  to  $29.99  
$30  and  over.  . 

1 

2 

1 

1 

Total  

5,019 

4,960 

583 

582 

991 

1,880 

150 

332 

PER  CENT. 


Under  S3 

0.2 

$3  to  53.99  

.9 

0.2 

0.5 

0.2 

0.7 

0.2 

$4  to  84.99 

3.7 

1.9 

1.4 

.7 

1.8 

1.5 

1.3 

0  6 

$5  to  85.99 

5.5 

3  4 

2  1 

1.0 

2.3 

3.2 

2.0 

2  1 

$6  to  86.99  

7.1 

6.6 

1.4 

3.8 

7.9 

6.9 

2.7 

3.0 

*7  to  87.99  

8.9 

8.5 

2.6 

4.0 

9.7 

10.5 

2.0 

2.1 

$8  to  $8.99 

9.1 

8.9 

5  0 

3.4 

10.9 

10.1 

2  7 

4  8 

$9  to  89.99  

9.7 

8.3 

4.3 

4.5 

12.8 

10.3 

6.0 

2.4 

$10  to  811.99  

18.7 

17.9 

10.8 

8.2 

22.4 

21.1 

14.0 

7.8 

$12  to  813.99 

19.1 

18.6 

20.9 

13.6 

17.8 

18.2 

16.0 

18  1 

$14  to  815.99 

11  7 

16  9 

24  2 

24  4 

8  5 

11  5 

26  7 

17  2 

3  4 

5  8 

11  0 

15  6 

2  g 

4  0 

12  7 

15  7 

$18  to  819.99 

1.5 

2.3 

9.1 

11.3 

1.4 

1.2 

5.3 

13  6 

$20  to  822.  49 

.3 

6 

4  3 

6  7 

7 

1  0 

8  0 

9  0 

$22.iO  to  824.99  

.1 

i  .1 

1.5 

1.2 

.2 

.1 

3.0 

$25  to  827.  49 

2  .1 

.7 

.9 

.1 

.2 

.6 

.3 

$27.£0  to  829.99 

.5 

$30  and  over  

.3 

.3 

Total  

100.0 

ioa.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

1  Including  822.50  and  over.  2  Including  $25  and  over. 

Taking  again  as  the  dividing  line  those  receiving  $14  a  week  and 
over,  Table  19  shows  that  in  1913  in  the  association  shops  the  num- 
ber of  women  receiving  the  above  rates  constituted  25.7  per  cent  of 

42132°— Bull.  146—14 4 


50 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


all  the  women,  while  the  men  in   the  corresponding  wage  groups 
formed  60.6  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  men.     In  the  nonasso- 
ciation  shops  the  women  receiving  $14  a  week  or  more  comprised  18 
per  cent  of  all  the  women,  and  men  59.1  per  cent  of  all  the  men, 
showing  but  a  small  difference  in  the  proportion  of  men  in  the  ass< 
ciation  and  the  nonassociation  shops  and  a  somewhat  larger  diffei 
ence  in  the  case  of  the  women,  the  difference  being  in  favor  of  tl 
women  in  the  association  shops.     The  reason  for  this  difference 
that  as  already  explained  the  association  shops  include  a  larger  pei 
centage  of  shops  manufacturing   higher-grade  garments  in  whicl 
women  operators  must  possess  a  greater  skill  than  in  the  shops  manu- 
facturing the  cheaper  garments  and  therefore  command  higher  rates  of 
wages.     In  the  case  of  men,  however,  the  chief  factor  in  determining 
their  wages  is  their  speed,  which  is  equally  valued  wherever  men 
operators   are  employed.     This  will  be  further   confirmed   by  the 
figures  and  the  charts  referred  to  below. 

Pieceworkers. 

What  has  been  said  about  the  difference  in  the  earnings  of  men  and 
women  pieceworkers  in  the  industry  as  a  whole  is  likewise  true  if 
they  are  compared  in  the  association  and  the  nonassociation  shops 
separately.  This  is  brought  out  in  Table  20,  which  follows: 

TABLE  2O.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  MALE  AND  FEMALE  OPERATORS,  PIECE- 
WORKERS IN  ASSOCIATION  AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS  EARNING  EACH  CLAS- 
SIFIED AMOUNT  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR,  1912  AND  1913. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  earnings  per  week. 

Association  shops. 

Nonassociation  shops. 

Females. 

Males. 

Females. 

Males. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

.1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

174 
93 
125 
149 
213 
255 
337 
422 
810 
1,054 
614 
399 
328 
214 
173 
71 
44 
45 

129 
67 
87 
116 
140 
192 
264 
311 
817 
8.r6 
828 
756 
£03 
428 
291 
148 
S5 
74 

10 
5 
2 
5 
6 
17 
24 
23 
63 
55 
71 
70 
70 
74 
-     53 
62 
41 
75 

6 
3 
7 
3 
8 
11 
22 
24 
64 
73 
113 
122 
128 
143 
119 
89 
47 
110 

21 
12 

17 
32 
29 
37 
47 
45 
102 
80 
70 
45 
34 
17 
5 
4 
1 

31 
16 
14 
20 
26 
44 
46 
63 
157 
188 
140 
10) 
S7 
63 
30 
11 
11 
5 

4 
3 
5 
6 
4 
5 
S 
8 
14 
14 
18 
18 
17 
21 
12 
10 
10 
7 

2 
11 
6 
3 
9 
6 
10 
7 
33 
39 
44 
48 
39 
43 

n 

25 
18 
25 

$3  to  $3  99 

$4  to  $4.99  ;   .. 

$5  to  S5.99 

$6  to  $6.99  

$7  to  $7.99 

$8  to  $8.99  

$9  to  $9.  99 

$10  to  $11.99  

$12  to  $13.99  

$14  to  $15.99 

$16  to  $17.99  

$18  to  $19.99 

$20  to  $22.  49  

$22.,R0  to  $24.99                                     

$25  to  $27  49 

$27.50  to  $29.99                      

$30  and  over 

Total  

5,520 

6,092 

726 

1,092 

598 

1,061 

184 

419 

WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT  IN  DRESS   AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY.       51 

TABLE  20.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  MALE  AND  FEMALE  OPERATORS,  PIECE- 
WORKERS, IN  ASSOCIATION  AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS  EARNING  EACH  CLAS- 
SIFIED AMOUNT  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR,  1912  AND  1913— Con. 

*  PER  CENT. 


Classified  earnings  per  week. 

Association  shops. 

Nonassociation  shops. 

Females. 

Males. 

Females. 

Males. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

3.2 
1.7 
2.3 
2.7 
3.9 
4.6 
6.1 
7  6 

2.1 
1.1 
1.4 
1.9 
2.3 
3.2 
4.3 
5.1 
13.4 
14.1 
13.6 
12.4 
8.3 
7.0 
4.8 
2.4 
1.4 
1.2 

1.4 
.7 
.3 
.7 
.8 
2.3 
3.3 
3.2 
8.7 
7.6 
9.8 
9.7 
9.7 
10.2 
7.3 
8.5 
5.6 
10.3 

0.5 
.3 
.6 
.3 
.7 
1.0 
2.0 
2.2 
5.9 
6.7 
10.3 
11.2 
11.7 
13.1 
10.9 
8.2 
4.3 
10.1 

3.5 
2.0 
2.8 
5.4 
4.8 
6.2 
7.9 
7.5 
17.1 
13.4 
11.7 
7.5 
5.7 
2.8 
.8 
.7 
.2 

2.9 
1.5 
1.3 
1.9 
2.5 
4.1 
4.3 
5.9 
14.8 
17.8 
13.2 
10.3 
8.2 
6.0 
2.8 
1.0 
1.0 
.5 

2.2 
1.6 
2.7 
3.3 
2.2 
2.7 
4.3 
4.3 
7.6 
7.6 
9.8 
9.8 
9.2 
11.4 
6.5 
5.4 
5.4 
3.8 

0.5 
2.6 
1.4 
.7 
2.1 
1.4 
2.4 
1.7 
7.9 
9.3 
10.5 
11.5 
9.3 
10.3 
12.1 
6.0 
4.3 
6.0 

$3  to  $3  99                   .          

$4  to  $4  99 

$5  to  85  99 

$6toS699                                  

$7  to  $7  99 

$8  to  *8  99 

$9  to  $9  99 

$10  to  §11  99 

14.7 
19.1 
11.1 
7.2 
5.9 
3.9 
3.1 
1.3 
.8 
.8 

$12  to  $13  99 

$H  to  $15.99                           

$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19.99     

$20  to  $22.  49                           

$22  50  to  $24  99 

$25  to  $27  49 

$27  50  to  829.99                  

Total 

1QO.O 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

This  table  shows  that  among  the  pieceworkers,  as  was  found  to 
be  the  case  among  the  week  workers,  there  is  a  larger  percentage 
earning  a  high  rate  of  wages  in  the  association  shops  than  there  is 
in  the  nonassociation  shops.  Thus,  the  women  pieceworkers  earning 
$18  a  week  and  over  in  1913  constituted  25  per  cent  of  all  the  women 
in  the  association  shops  and  19.5  percent  in  the  nonassociation  shops. 
The  percentage  of  men  operators  earning  $18  a  week  and  over  was 
58.3  in  the  association  shops  and  48  in  the  nonassociation  shops. 
Among  the  week  workers,  as  shown  in  Table  19,  the  women  earning 
$14  a  week  or  more  constituted  25. 8  per  cent  of  all  women  week  workers 
in  the  association  shops  and  only  18  per  cent  in  the  nonassociation 
shops,  while  the  percentage  of  men  of  the  same  groups  was  60.7  in  the 
association  shops  and  59  in  the  nonassociation  shops.  The  reverse  is 
evidently  true  of  those  earning  the  lower  rates  of  wages  who  constituted 
a  higher  percentage  in  the  nonassociation  shops  than  they  did  in  the 
association  shops.  These  facts  are  brought  out  in  Chart  2,  the 
upper  section  of  which  shows  the  rates  of  wages  of  women  operators, 
week  workers,  in  nonassociation  and  association  shops.  As  will  be 
seen  from  that  portion  of  the  chart,  the  solid  line  representing  the 
association  shops  is  above  the  broken  line  representing  the  non- 
association  shops  in  all  wage  groups  of  $12  a  week  and  over  except 
one,  and  is  generally  below  that  line  for  wages  below  $12  a  week. 
The  lower  section  of  the  chart  shows  a  similar  condition  for  women 
pieceworkers — the  line  representing  the  workers  in  the  association 


52 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


shops  being  above  the  nonassociation-shop  line  in  all  wage  groups 
above  $14  a  week,  and  below  that  line  in  nearly  all  wage  groups 
below  $14  a  week. 

The  figures  just  stated  as  to  the  difference  in  wages  for  operators 
in  association  and  nonassociation  shops  are  of  the  highest  moment 


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to  those  concerned  in  the  industry,  both  employers  and  employees. 
The  question  will  naturally  arise:  Are  these  differences  due  to  a 
higher  standard  of  wages  being  enforced  in  the  association  shops  than 
in  the  nonassociation  shops,  a  condition  which  would  be  equivalent 
to  discrimination  against  the  interests  of  manufacturers  belonging  to 


WAGES   AND  EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.        53 

the  association;  or  are  they  due  to  economic  differences  prevailing 
in  the  association  and  the  nonassociation  shops,  respectively,  as  a 
result  of  the  difference  in  the  character  of  the  garments  they  pro- 
duce? It  will  be  recalled  from  what  was  said  in  the  first  section  of 
this  report,  that  the  association  shops  are  chiefly  large  shops,  while 
the  nonassociation  shops  are  mainly  small  shops;  also  that  the 
association  shops  have  a  much  larger  percentage  of  shops  manu- 
facturing high-grade  garments  than  have  the  nonassociation  shops. 
If  the  differences  in  wages  shown  to  exist  in  the  association  and  non- 
association  shops,  respectively,  are  due  merely  to  their  affiliation  or 
nonaffiliation  with  the  association,  then  we  should  find  the  wages 
in  association  A  and  B  shops  more  or  less  the  same  and  considerably 
higher  than  in  the  nonassociation  A  and  B  shops,  which  likewise 
should  not  differ  much  from  each  other.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the 
difference  between  the  wages  which  we  have  found  prevailing  in 
the  association  and  nonassociation  shops  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
association  has  a  much  larger  percentage  of  shops  manufacturing 
high-grade  garments  than  the  nonassociation  shops,  then  we  should 
find  nearly  the  same  rates  prevailing  in  the  association  B  and  non- 
association  B  shops,  which  should  be  considerably  higher  than  those 
in  the  association  A  and  nonassociation  A  shops. 

COMPARISON  OF  WAGES  OF  MEN  AND  WOMEN  OPERATORS  IN  SHOPS  MAKING  CHEAP 
AND  HIGH-GRADE  GARMENTS. 

Week  workers. 

In  Tables  21  and  22,  which  follow,  are  shown  the  differences  in  the 
wages  of  female  and  male  operators,  week  workers,  in  four  classes 
of  shops  designated  as  association  A,  association  B,  nonassociation  A, 
and  nonassociation  B.  As  already  explained,  the  A  shops  are  those 
making  the  cheaper  grades  of  garments  and  the  B  shops  those  making 
the  higher  grades. 


54 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


RS, 

sso- 


TABLE  21.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  OPERATORS,  FEMALE,  WEEK  WORKERS, 
RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  IN  ASSO- 
CIATION AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS  MAKING  THE  CHEAPER  AND  THE  HIGHER 
GRADES  OF  GARMENTS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association  B  . 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

4 
43 
156 
219 
294 
362 
354 
381 
620 
464 
252 
52 
17 
5 
2 

| 

9 
53 
204 
299 
432 
541 
564 
615 
1,161 
1.136 
672 
196 
92 
24 
6 
4 
1 
1 

$3  to  S3  99            

11 
72 
149 
261 
374 
355 
332 
645 
479 
345 
102 
34 
13 
2 

7 
18 
21 
72 
84 
89 
102 
155 
103 
43 
14 
4 
2 

4 
26 
59 
126 
188 
174 
182 
347 
269 
164 
43 
7 
6 

3 
30 
57 
60 
83 
102 
107 
319 
496 
336 
116 
61 
12 
2 
3 
1 
1 

£ 

% 

621 
633 
*       606 
1,284 
1,264 
1,056 
362 
136 
47 
4 
4 

2 

$4  to  $4  99 

21 
18 

67 
50 
88 
80 
243 
443 
495 
184 
80 
15 

"2 
6 
12 
19 
25 
67 
73 
41 
14 
10 
5 
2 
1 

2 
2 
3 
9 
16 
12 
49 
73 
52 
33 
15 
13 
2 
3 

$5  to  $5  99  

$6  to  $6  99 

$7  to  $7.99  

$8  to  $8  99 

$9  to  $9.99  

$10  toSll  99        ...   . 

$12  to  $13  99 

$14  to  $15  99     . 

$16  toS17.99  

$18  to  $19.99  
$20  to  822  49 

$22.50  to  $24.99  
$25  to  $27  49 

1 

$27  50  to  $29  99 

$30  and  over 

1 

1 

Total  

3,225 

3,174 

714 

1,595 

1,794 

1,786 

277 

285  1     6,010 

6,840 

PER  CENT. 


U  nder  $3 

0.1 

0.3 

0.1 

$3  to  $3  99 

1  3 

0  3 

1  0 

0.3 

.2 

.9 

0  2 

$4  to  $4  99 

4.8 

2.3 

2.5 

1.6 

1.7 

1.2 

0.7 

3.4 

1  8 

$5  to  $5.99  

6.8 

4.7 

2.9 

3.7 

3.2 

1.0 

0.7 

.7 

5.0 

3.3 

$6  to  $6  99. 

9.1 

8.2 

10.1 

7.9 

3.3 

3.8 

2.2 

1.0 

*  7.2 

6.7 

$7  to  $7  .99  

11.2 

11.8 

11.8 

11.8 

4.6 

2.8 

4.3 

3.1 

9.0 

9.1 

$8  to  $8.99  

$9  to  $9  99 

11.0 
11.8 

11.2 
10.5 

12.5 
14.3 

10.9 
11.4 

5.7 
6.0 

4.9 
4.5 

6.8 
9.0 

5.6 
4.2 

9.4 
10.2 

9.2 
8.9 

$10  to  $11.99  

19.2 

20.3 

21.7 

21.8 

17.8 

13.6 

24.2 

17.2 

19.3 

18.8 

$12  to  $13  99... 

14.4 

15.1 

14.4 

16.9 

27.6 

24.8 

26.4 

25.6 

18.9 

18.5 

$14  to  $15.99  
$16  to  $17.99  .'... 

7.8 
1.6 

10.9 
3.2 

6.0 
2.0 

10.3 
2.7 

18.7 
6.5 

27.7 
10.3 

14.8 
5.1 

18.3 
11.6 

11.2 
3.3 

15.4 
5.3 

$18  to  $19  99 

.5 

1.1 

.6 

.4 

3.4 

4.5 

3.6 

5.3 

1.5 

2.0 

$20  to  $22.  49  

.2 

.4 

.3 

.4 

.7 

.8 

1.8 

4.6 

.4 

.7 

$22  50  to  $24  99 

(i) 

(i) 

1 

7 

7 

1 

$25  to  $27  49 

.2 

.1 

.4 

1.0 

.  l 

.1 

$27  50  to  $29  99 

.1 

(i) 

$30  and  over  .  .  . 

.1 

.1 

.4 

(i) 

(i) 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

Less  than  one- tenth  of  1  per  cent. 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DEESS   AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY.       55 


TABLE  22.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  OPERATORS,  MALE,  WEEK  WORKERS,  RE- 
CEIVING EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  IN  ASSO- 
CIATION AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS  MAKING  THE  CHEAPER  AND  THE  HIGHER 
GRADES  OF  GARMENTS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 
B.i 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

$3  to  '3  99 

1 
8 
8 
6 
11 
21 
13 
41 
87 
86 
42 
39 
16 
5 
1 

"~2 

1 
4 
5 
16 
20 
13 
18 
24 
51 
84 
69 
45 
28 
1 
4 
3 

2 

3 
10 
15 
12 
18 
33 
34 
84 
146 
181 
83 
61 
37 
9 
5 

1 
6 
13 
32 
30 
36 
34 
74 
139 
199 
143 
111 
69 
17 
6 
3 
1 

$4  to  ?4  99 

2 
3 
4 
2 
4 
8 
19 
21 
33 
15 
5 
12 

2 
7 
10 
5 
15 
8 
25 
55 
51 
49 
41 
25 
7 
1 

§.j  in  85.99  

$6  to^f)  99 

4 
2 
4 
8 
12 
22 
35 
55 
22 
14 
9 
4 
3 

1 
6 
3 
7 
8 
24 
28 
58 
22 
21 
11 
6 
1 

$7  toS?  99  

1 

2 
1 
..... 

5 
6 
3 
4 
5 
3 

$8to?8.99  

|9  to  89  99 

1 
2 
3 
7 
4 
3 

$10to!?11.99  

$12  to  $13.99  
$14  to  $15  99 

$16toS17.99  

$18  to  $19.99  
$20  to  S^  49 

$22.50  to  S24.  99  
$25  to  $27.49  
$27.50  to  S29  .99.  «.  .  . 

1 

1 

2 

Total  

387 

386 

129 

301 

196 

196 

21 

31 

733 

914 

PER  CENT. 


$3  to  S3  99 

0.3 

0.3 

1.0 

0.4 

0.1 

$4  to  $4  99 

2.1 

1.0 

1.6 

0.7 

1.4 

.7 

$5  to  S5  99 

2  1 

1  3 

2  3 

2.3 

2.0 

0.5 

2.0 

1.4 

S6toS<i.99  

1.6 

4.1 

3.1 

3.3 

1.0 

3.1 

1.6 

3.5 

$7  to  §7  .99 

2.8 

5.2 

1.5 

1.7 

2.0 

1.5 

2.5 

3.3 

£8  to  $8  99 

5.4 

3.4 

3.1 

5.0 

4.1 

3.6 

4.5 

3.9 

$9  to  $9  .99  

3.4 

4.7 

6.3 

2.7 

6.2 

4.1 

4.6 

3.7 

$10  to  S11.99 

10.6 

6.2 

14.7 

8.3 

11.2 

12.2 

11.5 

8.1 

$12  to  S13  99 

22  5 

13  2 

16  3 

18  3 

17.9 

14.3 

19.9 

15.2 

$14  to  §15.99.   . 

22.2 

21.8 

25.6 

16.9 

28.1 

29.6 

24.7 

21.8 

$16  to  §17  99 

10.9 

17.9 

11.6 

16.3 

11.2 

11.2 

11.3 

15.6 

$18  to  $19  99 

10  1 

11.7 

3  9 

13.6 

7.1 

10.7 

8.3 

12.1 

$20  to  $22  49... 

4.1 

7.3 

9.3 

8.3 

4.6 

5.6 

5.0 

7.5 

$22  50  to  $24  99... 

1.3 

.3 

2.3 

2.0 

3.1 

1.2 

1.9 

$25  to  $27  49 

.3 

1  0 

.8 

.3 

1.5 

.5 

.7 

.7 

$27  50  to  §29  99 

.3 

$30  and  over  

.5 

.3 

.1 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

i  Percentages  for  nonassociation  B  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

Taking  first  the  wages  of  women  week  workers  as  shown  in  Table  21, 
it  is  found  that  there  is  a  greater  difference  between  the  high-grade 
And  the  low-grade  garment  shops,  whether  inside  or  outside  of  the 
association,  than  there  is  between  the  association  and  the  nonassocia- 
tion shops  manufacturing  the  same  grade  of  garments.  Thus  in  1913 
the  percentage  of  women  earning  $10  a  week  and  over  was  as  follows 
in  the  separate  branches  of  the  industry:  Association  B  shops,  81.8 
per  cent;  nonassociation  B  shops,  84.7  per  cent;  association  A  shops, 
51 .0  per  cent ;  nonassociation  A  shops,  52.5  per  cent.  In  other  words, 
the  figures  for  the  association  B  and  the  nonassociation  B  shops  are 
almost  the  same,  but  greatly  different  from  those  for  the  association 
A  and  the  nonassociation  A  shops,  which  are  very  close  to  each  other. 


Is 

EH  <1 


a 


s 


<!  o 

P5  EH 


OQ    HH 

§2 


£         s 


T  ! 


5fi 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.        57 


This  difference  is  made  clear  to  the  eye  in  Chart  3,  where  the 
association  B  and  the  nonassociation  B  lines  lie  very  close  to  each 
other,  entirely  coinciding  in  some  parts  and  where,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  association  A  and  the  nonassociation  A  shops  likewise  lie 
close  to  each  other,  coinciding  in  some  parts  but  lying  at  a  considerable 
distance  from  the  B  lines.  It  will  be  interesting  to  note  at  the  same 
time  that  of  the  two  curves,  representing  the  B  or  high  grade  gar- 
ment shops,  the  one  representing  the  nonassociation  shops  lies  above 
that  representing  the  association  shops,  showing  that  the  proportion 
of  workers  receiving  the  higher  wages  is  larger  in  the  nonassociation 
than  in  the  association  shops,  while  in  the  A  shops  (manufacturing 
the  lower-grade  garments)  the  proportion  of  the  higher- paid  workers 
is  higher  in  the  association  shops  than  in  the  nonassociation  shops. 
This  furnishes  additional  proof  that  there  is  no  strict  line  of  demarca- 
tion between  the  association  and  the  nonassociation  shops  but  that 
there  is  rAways  a  very  marked  difference  between  the  A  and  B  shops 
irrespective  of  their  affiliation  or  nonaffiliation  with  the  association. 

Pieceworkers. 

The  differences  in  the  wages  of  female  and  male  operators  working 
by  the  piece  are  shown  for  the  four  classes  of  shops  in  Tables  23  and 
24  which  follow: 

TARLE  23.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  OPERATORS,  FEMALE,  PIECEWORKERS, 
EARNING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE 
YEAR,  1912  AND  1913. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  earnings 
per  week. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association 
B. 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912. 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  S3  .          ... 

90 
52 
78 
81 
118 
155 
185 
231 
422 
668 
268 
178 
117 
58 
78 
24 
15 
13 

78 
47 
49 
76 
85 
123 
163 
182 
463 
463 
454 
352 
202 
164 
112 
55 
33 
30 

20 
9 
14 
22 
25 
29 
39 
36 
76 
60 
43 
27 
22 
3 
3 
1 

30 
13 
12 
16 
20 
34 
35 
54 
114 
131 
105 
72 
54 
41 
17 
7 
4 
4 

84 
41 
47 
68 
95 
100 
152 
191 
388 
386 
346 
221 
211 
156 
95 
47 
29 
32 

51 
20 
38 
40 
55 
69 
101 
129 
354 
393 
374 
404 
301 
264 
179 
93 
52 
44 

1 
3 
3 
10 
4 
8 
8 
9 
26 
20 
27 
18 
12 
14 
2 
3 
1 

1 
3 
2 
4 
6 
10 
11 
9 
43 
57 
35 
37 
33 
22 
13 
4 
7 
1 

195 
105 
142 
181 
242 
292 
384 
467 
912 
1,134 
684 
444 
362 
231 
178 
75 
45 
45 

160 
83 
101 
136 
166 
236 
310 
374 
974 
1,044 
968 
865 
590 
491 
321 
159 
96 
79 

$3  to  $3  99 

$4  to  $4.99  

$5toS5.99  

$6  to  S").99 

$7  to  $7.99 

$8  to  S^.99  

$9  to  83.99  

$10  to  811.  99 

812  to  $13.99  

$14toS15.99  

$16  to  817  99 

$18  to  $19.99  

$20  to  $22.49  

S22.  50  to  §24.99  
$25  to  827.49  
$27.50  to  $29.99  
?30and  over  

Total  

2,831 

3,131 

429 

763 

2,689 

2.  961 

169 

298 

6,  118  j       7,  153 

PER  CENT. 


Under  $3.. 

3.2 

2.5 

4.7 

3.9 

3.1 

1.7 

0.6 

0.3 

3.2 

2.2 

S3  to  S3.  99 

1.8 

1.5 

2.  1 

1.7 

1.5 

.7 

1.8 

1.0 

1.7 

1.2 

$4  to  84  99 

2  8 

1.6 

3.3 

1.6 

1.7 

1.3 

1.8 

.7 

">.  3 

1.4 

$5  to  85.99... 

2.9 

2.4 

5.1 

2.1 

2.5 

1.4 

5.9 

1.3 

3.0 

1.9 

86to$f>.99.. 

4.2 

2.7 

5.8 

2.6 

3.5 

1.9 

2.4 

2.0 

4.0 

2.3 

87to?7.99. 

$8  to  $8.99... 

5.5 
6.5 

3.9 
5.2 

6.8 
9.1 

4.5 
4.6 

3.7 

5.7 

2.3 
3.4 

4.7 
4.7 

3.4 

3.7 

4.8 
6.3 

3.3 
4.3 

58 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  23.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  OPERATORS,  FEMALE,  PIECEWORKERS, 
EARNING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE 
YEAR,  1912  AND  1913— Concluded. 

PER,  CENT— Concluded. 


(  lassifled  earnings 
per  week. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association 
B. 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Totaj. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

$9  to  $0.99  

8.2 
14.9 
23.6 
9.5 
6.3 
4.1 
2.0 
2.8 
.8 
.5 
.5 

5.8 
14.8 
14.8 
14.5 
11.2 
6.5 
5.2 
3.6 
1.8 
1.1 
1.0 

8.4 
17.7 
14.0 
10.0 
6.3 
5.1 
.7 
.7 
.2 

7.1 
14.9 
17.2 
13.8 
9.4 
7.1 
5.4 
2.2 
.9 
.5 
.5 

7.1 
14.4 
14.4 
12.9 
8.2 
7.8 
5.8 
3.5 
1.7 
1.1 
1.2 

4.4 
12.0 
13.3 
12.6 
13.6 
10.2 
8.9 
6.0 
3.1 
1.8 
1.5 

5.3 
15.4 
11.8 
16.0 
10.7 
7.1 
8.3 
1.2 
1.8 
.6 

3.0 
14.4 
19.1 
11.7 
12.4 
11.1 
7.4 
4.4 
1.3 
2.3 
.3 

7.6 
14.9 
18.5 
11.2 
7.3 
5.9 
3.8 
2.9 
1.2 
.7 
.7 

5.2 
13.6 
14.6 
13.5 
12.1 
8.2 
6.9 
4.5 
2.2 
1.3 
1.1 

$10  to  §11.99. 

$12  to  $13.99  
$14  to  $15.99  
$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19.99  

$20  to  $22.49. 

$22.50  to  $24.99  
$25  to  $27.  49  

$27.50  to  $29.99  
$30  and  over 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

TABLE  24.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  OPERATORS,  MALE,  PIECEWORKERS,  EARN- 
ING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR,  1912 
AND  1913. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  earnings 
per  week. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association 
B. 

Nonassociation 
B.i 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

8 
2 
2 
4 
5 
13 
19 
19 
49 
40 
49 
54 
51 
55 
33 
42 
29 
38 

5 
3 
5 
2 
•    8 
9 
17 
20 
56 
61 
86 
102 
106 
124 
99 
63 
34 
78 

2 
3 
5 
6 
4 
4 
5 
7 
14 
13 
15 
15 
14 
19 
11 
9 
7 
7 

2 
11 
6 
3 
9 
6 
10 
5 
30 
38 
41 
43 
36 
34 
43 
20 
16 
20 

2 
3 

1 

2 

14 

8 
7 
11 
10 
22 
32 
31 
77 
69 
89 
88 
87 
95 
65 
72 
51 
82 

8 
14 
13 
6 
17 
17 
32 
31 
97 
112 
157 
170 
167 
186 
170 
114 
65 
135 

$3  to  $3  99 

$4  to  $4.99 

2 
1 

$5  to  $5  99 

1 
1 
4 
5 
4 
14 
15 
22 
16 
19 
19 
20 
20 
12 
37 

$6  to  $6.99  

$7  to  $7  99 

2 
5 
4 
8 
12 
27 
20 
22 
19 
20 
26 
13 
32 

1 
3 
1 

...... 

3 
1 
3 
5 
3 
9 
8 
5 
2 
5 

$8  to  $8.99  

$9  to  $9  99 

$10  to  811  99 

$12  to  $13.99  
$14  to  $15  99 

1 
3 
3 
3 
2 
1 
1 
3 

$16  toS17.99  

$18  to  $19.99. 

$20  to  $22.49  

$22.50  to  $24.99  
$25  to  $27  49 

$27.50  to  $29.99  
$30  and  over. 

Total  

512 

878 

160 

373 

214 

214 

24  1          46 

910 

1,511 

PER  CENT. 


Under  $3.  .  . 

1.6 

06 

1.3 

0.5 

0.9 

0.5 

1.5 

0.5 

$3  to  $3.99.              .  . 

.4 

.3 

1.9 

2.9 

1.4 

.9 

.9 

$4  to  $1  99 

.  4 

.6 

3.1 

1.6 

.9 

.8 

.9 

$5  to  $5.99  

.8 

.2 

3.8 

.8 

.5 

.5 

1.2 

.4 

$6  to  $6.99. 

1.0 

.9 

2-5 

2.4 

.5 

.      1.1 

1.1 

$7  to  $7  99 

2.5 

1.0 

2.5 

1.6 

1.9 

.9 

2.4 

1.1 

$8  1  0  $8  99 

3  7 

1  9 

3  1 

2  7 

2  3 

2  3 

3.5 

2.1 

$9  to  $9.99 

3.7 

2.3 

4.4 

1.3 

1.9 

1.9 

3.4 

2.1 

$10  to  $11  99 

9  6 

6.4 

8.8 

8.0 

6.5 

3.7 

8.5 

6.4 

$12  to  $13.99  

7.8 

6.9 

8.1 

10.2 

7.0 

5.6 

7.6 

7.4 

$14  to  $15.99 

9.6 

9.8 

9.4 

11.0 

10.3 

12.6 

9.8 

10.4 

$16  to  $17.99 

10  5 

11.6 

9.4 

11.5 

7.5 

9.3 

9.7 

11.3 

$18  to  $19.99  

10.0 

12.1 

8.8 

9.7 

8.9 

10.3 

9.6 

11.1 

$20  to  $22.49. 

10.7 

14.1 

11.9 

9.1 

8.9 

8.9 

10.4 

12.3 

$22.50  to  $24.99 

6  4 

11.3 

6.9 

11  a 

9.3 

9.3 

7.1 

11.3 

$25  to  827  49 

8  2 

7  2 

5  6 

5  4 

9  3 

12  1 

7  9 

7  5 

$27.50  to  $29.99.... 

5.7 

3.9 

4.4 

4.3 

5.6 

6.1 

5.6 

4.3 

$30  and  over.  .  . 

7.  4 

8.9 

4.  4 

5.4 

17  3 

15  0 

9.0 

S.9 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

1  Percentages  for  nonassociation  B  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.       59 

The  same  tendency  is  observed  in  the  wages  of  women  operators 
working  by  the  piece  as  in  the  wages  among  the  week  workers.  The 
percentage  of  women  pieceworkers  earning  $10  and  over  during  the 
busiest  week  in  1913  was  78.2  per  cent  for  the  industry  as  a  whole. 
Taking  the  separate  branches  of  the  industry,  it  is  found  that  in  the  B 
shops  the  percentage  was  84.4  per  cent  for  the  nonassociation  shops 
and  83.0  per  cent  for  the  association  shops,  while  in  the  A  shops  it  was 
71.9  per  cent  in  the  nonassociation  shops  and  74.5  per  cent  in  the 
association  shops.  As  in  the  case  of  the  week  workers,  there  is  found 
here  a  close  similarity  of  conditions  in  the  shops  manufacturing  the 
same  grades  of  garments,  whether  they  belong  to  the  association  or 
not,  and  a  considerable  difference  between  the  shops  manufacturing 
high  and  low  grade  garments,  respectively,  both  among  those  affiliated 
with  the  association  and  those  outside  of  it;  but  there  is  a  much 
smaller  difference  between  the  A  and  B  shops'  figures  among  the 
pieceworkers  than  there  is  in  the  case  of  the  week  workers.  Thus,  as 
will  be  recalled,  Table  21  showed  the  percentage  of  those  earning  $10 
a  week  or  more  to  be  from  82  to  85  per  cent  for  the  B  shops,  and  from 
51  to  52  per  cent  for  the  A  shops;  whereas,  as  shown  by  Table  23,  the 
number  of  the  same  class  of  workers  among  the  pieceworkers  is  from 
83  to  84  per  cent  for  the  B  shops,  and  from  72  to  74  per  cent  for  the  A 
shops  (disregarding  decimals).  This  is  apparently  due  to  the  fact 
that,  among  week  workers,  the  differences  in  rates  of  wages  between 
A  and  B  shops  are  due  largely  to  difference  in  skill,  the  B  shops 
requiring  operators  capable  of  turning  out  high-grade  garments,  who 
can  therefore  command  a  considerably  higher  rate  of  wages  than  the 
less  skilled  and  more  recently  apprenticed  workers  in  the  low-grade 
garment  shops.  Among  pieceworkers  on  the  other  hand,  the  differ- 
ences in  the  high-grade  and  the  low-grade  garment  shops  are  more 
nearly  equalized.  In  the  high-grade  garment  shops  the  rate  per 
garment  is  higher,  but  the  garment  can  not  be  made  so  rapidly  as  a 
low-grade  garment.  The,  result  is  that  what  a  less  skilled  worker  in 
the  low-grade  garment  shop  loses  on  the  rate  per  garment,  she  makes 
up,  to  a  large  extent,  on  the  speed  with  which  she  can  turn  it  out  and 
the  earnings  of  the  pieceworkers  in  the  two  types  of  shops  come 
close  together. 

This  fact  is  likewise  shown  in  Chart  4.  It  will  be  observed  that, 
as  in  the  previous  chart,  the  two  lines  representing  the  B  groups 
lie  near  one  another  and  that  the  two  lines  representing  the  A 
groups  constitute  the  other  pair;  but  unlike  the  showing  in  Chart  3 
there  is  not  the  same  close  coincidence  between  lines  of  each  pair, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  two  pairs  come  closer  to  one  another 
than  they  do  in  Chart  3,  for  the  reasons  just  explained. 

In  Tables  22  and  24  the  wages  of  the  men  operators  are  shown  in 
the  same  detail  as  are  those  of  the  women  operators  just  considered. 


60 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


O 
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WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS    AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       61 

Table  22  shows  the  wages  of  the  week  workers  and  Table  24  the 
wages  of  the  pieceworkers.  The  same  general  tendencies  will  be 
observed  in  the  case  of  the  men  week  workers  as  in  the  case  of  the 
women  week  workers.  The  number  of  workers  being  very  small,  the 
percentages  were  not  worked  out  for  the  nonassociation  shops  at  all 
and  are  less  conclusive  in  the  case  of  the  other  shops  than  they  are 
in  connection  with  the  women  week  workers.  In  1913  the  male 
operators,  pieceworkers  (Table  24),  earning  $14  a  week  and  over,  con- 
stituted 77.1  per  cent  of  all  such  operators  in  the  industry  as  a  whole, 
and  in  the  four  branches  of  the  industry  the  percentages  were  as  fol- 
lows: Nonassociation  B  shops,  87  per  cent;  association  B,  83.6  per 
cent;  nonassociation  A,  67.9  per  cent;  association  A,  78.9  per  cent. 
Again,  there  is  found  to  be  a  close  resemblance  of  conditions  in  the 
association  B  and  the  nonassociation  B  shops  on  the  one  hand,  and 
in  the  association  A  and  the  nonassociation  A  shops  on  the  other, 
and  also  it  is  noted  that  the  wages  are  somewhat  higher  in  the  non- 
association  shops  in  the  B  group  *  and  in  the  association  shops  in 
the  A  group. 

The  difference  in  the  earnings  of  men  and  women  operators  is  illus- 
trated in  Chart  5.  This  chart  consists  of  diagrams,  illustrating  the 
difference  between  men's  and  women's  earnings  in  the  A  (those  manu- 
facturing lower-grade  garments)  and  B  (those  manufacturing  higher- 
grade  garments)  shops,  respectively.  The  upper  section  of  the  chart 
shows  the  wages  of  week  workers  and  the  lower  section  those  of  piece- 
workers. Since  the  majority  of  the  workers  are  employed  in  associa- 
tion shops,  this  chart  has  been  prepared  to  illustrate  the  difference 
between  the  high-grade  and  low-grade  garment  shops  belonging  to 
the  association. 

In  both  sections  of  the  chart  the  contrast  between  the  lines  repre- 
senting the  A  and  B  shops  is  remarkable.  Taking,  first,  the  upper 
section  relating  to  week  workers,  it  is  found  that  in  the  A  shops  the 
two  curves  representing  the  wages  of  men  and  women,  respectively, 
run  almost  parallel  to  each  other  except  at  the  point  near  the  middle, 
where  they  intersect,  while  in  the  B  shops  the  two  lines  come  very 
close  to  one  another,  the  line  representing  men's  wages  showing  an 
appreciable  excess  of  men  over  women  only  in  the  upper  ranks,  begin- 
ning with  $18  a  week,  in  which  there  is  a  comparatively  small  number. 

The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  lower  section  relating  to  pieceworkers. 
Here,  too,  the  women's  earnings  are  seen  to  lag  behind  those  of  the 
men  in  the  A  shops  except  at  the  point  of  intersection  above  $16, 
while  in  the  B  shops  there  is  no  such  uniformity,  although  on  the 
whole  men's  earnings  are  seen  to  be  above  women's.  The  reason  for 
this  is  clear.  In  the  A  shops,  where  the  lower-grade  garments  are 

1  It  must  be  pointed  out,  however,  that  the  percentages  for  the  nonassociation  B  group  are  based  on  too 
small  numbers  to  warrant  comparison  in  fine  detail. 


62 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 


manufactured,  quantity  of  output  is  the  chief  requirement,  and  the 
men,  therefore,  have  a  distinct  advantage  over  the  women,  with  the 
result  that  there  is  a  larger  percentage  of  men  in  the  higher-paid  wage 
groups,  which  begin  with  $12  to  $13.99  a  week  for  week  workers,  and 

CHART  5.— WAGES  OF  MALE  AND  FEMALE  OPERATORS  IN  ASSOCIATION 
SHOPS  MAKING  LOW  AND  HIGH  GRADE  GARMENTS,  1913:  PER  CEN' 
OF  WEEK  WORKERS  RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  WEEKLY  RAr 
AND  OF  PIECEWORKERS  EARNING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT  DU1 
ING  BUSIEST  WEEK. 


Wi 


tS    S6  S7   $8   39  flO         H2        ti*         tl6 


S2O        S22. 


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\ 


\ 


\ 


CJaees  <>j  Op 


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Nr 


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PitctCtKKH.flwn  "8" 
Ftetulc   — 


f/0 


$16 


$24.        926        S28        $30  j, 


in  the  group  of  $16  to  $17.99  among  the  pieceworkers.  In  the  higher- 
grade  shops  skill  and  quality  of  work  is  as  important  and  frequently 
much  more  important  than  quantity  of  output,  and  in  these  cases 
men  have  frequently  less  of  an  advantage  over  the  women  than  in 
the  lower-grade  shops  and  in  some  cases  have  none. 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       6& 

It  is  also  interesting  to  compare  the  wages  of  week  workers  and 
pieceworkers  in  the  same  branch  of  the  industry,  as  brought  out  by 
this  chart.  In  the  upper  section,  representing  the  week  workers,  the 
curves  for  both  A  and  B  shops  are  seen  to  rise  to  points  between  20 
per  cent  and  30  per  cent,  while  in  the  lower  section,  representing  the 
pieceworkers,  the  high  points  do  not  rise  above  15  per  cent.  That  is 
to  say,  while  from  20  per  cent  to  30  per  cent  of  the  week  workers 
receive  a  certain  rate  of  pay,  the  number  of  pieceworkers  earning  the 
same  amount  does  not  exceed  15  per  cent  of  the  total.  This  shows 
that  in  all  branches  of  the  industry,  irrespective  of  the  grade  of  goods 
manufactured,  the  tendency  under  the  week-work  system  is  for  weekly 
rates  of  wages  to  concentrate  about  a  certain  rate  which  may  be  called 
the  customary,  if  not  the  standard,  rate  of  pay  to  workers  of  average 
skill;  hence  the  rise  of  the  curve  representing  weekly  rates  to  a  more 
or  less  high  point.  This  is  less  the  case  among  pieceworkers.  While 
here,  too,  workers  of  average  skill  should  earn  similar  wages  under 
similar  conditions,  conditions  as  between  shop  and  shop  and  between 
worker  and  worker  in  the  same  shop  are  never  exactly  alike,  and  each 
individual  variation,  whether  in  the  physical  condition  of  the  workers 
at  any  moment  or  lack  or 'accumulation  of  work  or  condition  of  each 
worker's  machine,  etc.,  is  automatically  reflected  in  his  or  her  earn- 
ings, which  is  not  the  case  with  workers  paid  by  the  week.  Hence 
the  curves  for  the  pieceworkers,  whether  in  the  A  or  B  shops  and 
whether  male  or  female,  do  not  rise  to  as  high  a  point  as  in  the  case  of 
week  workers,  thus  indicating  a  wider  variation  in  individual  earnings 
and  less  uniformity  among  pieceworkers  than  among  week  workers. 

COMPARISON  OF  WAGES  IN  1912  AND  1913. 

The  effect  of  the  protocol  on  the  wages  of  operators  will  be  seen  by 
comparing  the  wages  in  1912  and  1913.  The  usual  course  will  be 
followed,  comparing  first  the  wages  of  week  workers  during  the  two 
years,  taking  the  female  and  male  workers  separately,  and  then  the 
earnings  of  the  pieceworkers. 

Week  workers. 

Table  15  shows  the  wages  of  all  the  operators  working  by  the  week 
in  the  entire  industry,  then*  number  in  1913  being  6,840  women  and 
914  men,  which  constitutes  about  a  thousand  more  workers  in  1913 
than  in  1912.  An  examination  of  the  figures  showing  the  percentages 
of  workers  in  the  different  wage  groups  shows  that  there  has  been  a 
uniform  increase  in  the  proportion  of  women  operators  earning  $14  a 
week  and  over  and  a  corresponding  reduction  in  the  number  of  opera- 
tors earning  less  than  $14.  In  the  case  of  the  men  operators,  the 
dividing  line  begins  at  $16.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that 
the  number  of  both  men  and  women  receiving  $22.50  and  over  is  too 


64  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

small  to  warrant  a  discussion  of  percentages.  The  increase  in  the 
number  of  higher-paid  workers  is  shown  by  the  following  figures: 
The  proportion  of  women  receiving  $14  a  week  and  over  increased 
from  16.6  per  cent  in  1912  to  23.5  per  cent  in  1913.  Although  there 
was  a  much  larger  increase  in  the  percentage  of  women  earning  $14  a 
week  and  over  than  of  men,  the  fact  still  remains  that  there  were  only 
23.5  per  cent  of  the  women  receiving  $14  a  week  and  over  as  against 
60  per  cent  of  the  men. 

It  is  interesting  to  see  to  what  extent  this  increase  affected  the 
nonassociation  and  association  shops,  respectively.  Table  19  and 
Chart  6  contain  the  answer  to  this  question.  The  wages  of  women 
only  are  shown  on  the  chart,  since  the  number  of  men  is  comparatively 
small.  Looking  at  the  upper  section  of  Chart  6,  in  which  the  solid 
line  represents  the  wages  in  association  shops  in  1913  and  the  broken 
line  the  wages  in  1912,  the  1913  line  is  seen  to  be  higher  than  the  1912 
line  for  the  groups  of  $12  a  week  and  upward,  showing  the  increase 
in  the  proportion  of  workers  receiving  the  higher  rates  of  pay.  Cor- 
responding to  this,  the  1912  line  is  a  little  above  the  1913  line  for  the 
wage  groups  below  the  $12  rate.  The  lower  section  of  the  chart  shows 
practically  the  same  state  of  affairs  in  the  nonassociation  shops  with 
some  variation  in  details.  The  1912  and  1913  lines  meet  in  the  group 
of  $12  to  $13.99,  and  the  1913  line  is  above  the  1912  line  for  the  wage 
groups  above  that  figure.  For  the  wage  groups  below  the  $12  rate, 
the  1912  line  is  in  some  cases  above  and  in  others  below  the  1913  line, 
the  two  lines  alternating  as  they  pass  from  group  to  group.  This 
shows  that,  as  the  number  of  people  in  a  lower  group  was  reduced,  it 
caused  an  increase  in  the  next  higher  group  in  excess  of  the  numfcer 
of  people  transferred  from  that  group  to  the  next  higher  one.  The 
details  as  to  the  exact  number  of  people  in  each  wage  group,  both 
men  and  women  in  the  association  and  nonassociation  shops,  will  be 
found  in  Table  19,  but  they  may  be  briefly  summed  up  here:  Thus, 
in  the  association  shops,  the  percentage  of  women  operators,  week 
workers,  receiving  $14  a  week  and  over  increased  from  17.1  per  cent 
to  25.7  per  cent,  and  in  the  nonassociation  shops,  from  13.7  per  cent 
in  1912  to  18  per  cent  in  1913.  The  percentage  of  men  operators, 
week  workers,  receiving  $14  a  week  and  over  in  association  shops 
increased  from  51.1  per  cent  in  1912  to  60.6  per  cent  in  1913,  and  in 
the  nonassociation  shops  from  53.3  per  cent  to  59.1  per  cent.  All  of 
these  figures  show  a  fairly  uniform  increase  in  wages  since  the  protocol 
went  into  effect  both  in  association  and  nonassociation  shops. 


Pieceworkers. 


The  protocol  had  no  less  an  effect  in  causing  an  advance  of  wages 
among  the  operators  working  by  the  piece  than  it  had  among  the 
week  workers.  Table  17  shows  what  has  happened  among  the  piece- 
workers in  the  industry  as  a  whole,  giving  the  wages  of  7,153  women 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       65 


and  1,511  men  operators  working  in  1913,  and  showing  an  excess  of 
over  1,600  workers  in  1913  over  those  for  whom  data  were  obtained 
for  1912. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  week  workers,  so  with  the  pieceworkers,  the 
increase  in  percentages  begins  with  the  $14  group,  while  for  those  earn- 

CHART  6.— WAGES  OF  FEMALE  OPERATORS  (WEEK  WORKERS)  IN  ASSO- 
CIATION AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS,  1912  AND  1913:  PER  CENT 
RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  WEEKLY  RATE. 


$3    S4   £5-    S6  $7    $8    S9  S/O 


$12 


$14* 


S/6 


$20$  over. 


I9IZ,  —    —    —    — 
1315    


\ 


10 


I* 


10 


<rf 


$3 


$8 


$12         f/4- 


tl'Q 


ing  under  $14  a  week  there  is  a  decline  in  every  wage  group  among  the 
women,  and  in  most  wage  groups  among  the  men,  some  of  the  groups 
of  men  operators  showing  the  same  percentage  as  the  groups  of 
women  operators.  Thus,  the  number  of  women  operators  receiving 
$14  a  week  and  over  increased  from  33.7  per  cent  of  the  total  in  1912 
42132°—  Bull.  146—14  -  5 


66  BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUKEAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

to  50.0  per  cent  in  1913.  In  the  case  of  men,  the  number  of  those 
receiving  $14  a  week  and  over  increased  from  69  per  cent  in  1912  to 
77.1  per  cent  in  1913.  That  is  to  say,  one-half  of  all  the  women 
operators  and  more  than  three-fourths  of  all  the  men  operators  earned 
$14  and  over  a  week  during  the  busiest  week  of  1913. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  week  workers,  so  among  the  pieceworkers  the 
increase  in  the  proportion  of  workers  receiving  $14  a  week  and  over 
was  greater  among  the  women  than  among  the  men,  amounting  to 
nearly  50  per  cent  among  the  women  and  to  less  than  12  per  cent 
among  the  men,  but  the  proportion  of  men  receiving  these  higher 
rates  of  wages  greatly  exceeds  the  proportion  of  women,  being,  as 
stated  above,  77.1  per  cent  among  the  men  and  50  percent  among  the 
women.  In  actual  numbers,  this  represents  3,570  women  and 
1,164  men. 

Increase  in  earnings  of  pieceworkers  in  association  and  nonassociation  shops. 

Again,  it  will  be  interesting  to  compare  the  increase  in  earnings 
among  the  operators  employed  in  association  and  nonassociation 
shops,  respectively.  The  figures  are  shown  in  Tables  20,  23,  and  24, 
and  are  reproduced  graphically  in  Chart  7.  As  in  the  case  of  the 
week  workers,  only  the  earnings  of  the  women  are  shown  on  the 
chart,  the  number  of  men  being  too  small  to  justify  the  preparation 
of  special  charts.  Looking  first  at  the  upper  section  of  the  chart, 
showing  the  changes  in  wages  from  1912  to  1913  in  association  shops, 
it  is  seen  that  the  two  lines,  representing  1913  and  1912  earnings, 
cross  in  the  group  of  $14  and  under  $16  a  week,  the  1913  line  being 
higher  than  the  1912  line  in  all  of  the  wage  groups  above  $14.  Below 
the  $14  rate,  the  1912  line  is  in  all  cases  above  the  1913  line,  showing 
a  reduction  in  the  percentages  of  women  pieceworkers  receiving 
wages  below  $14.  The  most  striking  feature  in  this  section  of  the 
chart  is  the  great  change  which  has  occurred  in  the  groups  $12  and 
under  $14  on  one  hand,  and  $14  and  under  $18  on  the  other;  in  the 
former  there  is  a  very  sharp  drop  from  1912  to  1913,  and  in  the  latter 
there  is  a  corresponding  rise,  showing  that  most  of  the  changes 
affected  the  workers  earning  between  $12  and  $18  a  week  during  the 
busiest  week  of  the  year. 

The  lower  section  of  the  chart  shows  the  changes  which  have 
occurred  among  the  women  piece  operators  employed  in  the  nonasso- 
ciation shops.  Here  the  same  general  tendency  is  shown  as  in  associa- 
tion shops.  The  increase  of  1913  over  1912  occurs  in  the  group 
$12  and  under  $14  a  week,  but  is  not  so  great  as  in  the  association 
shops.  Both  sections  of  the  chart  show  a  decline  in  the  percentage 
of  workers  receiving  under  $12  a  week. 

The  changes  in  wages  brought  out  in  Chart  7  are  shown  in  detail 
for  each  wage  group  in  the  tables.  A  summary  of  all  the  tables  quoted 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       67 

points  to  one  conclusion  which  constitutes  the  most  salient  finding 
of  the  investigation  covered  by  this  report,  namely :  A  general  increase 
in  the  proportion  of  those  earning  the  higher  rates  of  wages  and  a 
reduction  in  the  proportion  of  those  earning  the  lower  rates.  How 


vn 


\ 


•o    s 


J 


\ 


general  this  change  was  will  be  seen  from  the  following  summary. 
The  proportion  of  women  week  workers  receiving  $10  a  week  and 
over  in  1912  and  in  1913  and  the  proportion  of  women  pieceworkers 
earning  $10  and  over  in  the  busiest  week  of  the  years  1912  and  1913 
follows. 


68 


BULLETIN   OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 


TABLE  25.— PER    CENT    OF    WOMEN    WEEK    WORKERS    AND    PIECEWORKERS 
RECEIVING  $10  A  WEEK  AND  OVER  1912,  AND  1913. 


Week  workers  re- 
ceiving   $10    or 
more  per  week. 

Pieceworkers  earn- 
ing $10  or  more 
per  week. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Industry  as  a  whole 

Per  cent. 
54.8 
43.8 
45.0 
75.1 
76.9 

Per  cent. 
60.8 
51.1 
52.4 
81.9 
84.6 

Per  cent. 
67.1 
65.0 
54.8 
71.1 
72.8 

Per  cent. 
78.1 
74.4 
71.9 
83.2 
84.6 

Association  A 

Nonassociation  A 

Association  C 

Nonassociation  B  

Similar  changes  have  occurred  in  the  earnings  of  the  men  operators. 
BUTTONHOLE  MAKERS. 

Buttonholes  are  made  on  a  special  buttonhole  machine.  In  the 
majority  of  shops  one  buttonhole  maker  is  sufficient  to  do  the  work 
on  all  the  garments  in  the  shop.  In  most  of  the  shops  it  is  impossible 
to  keep  a  buttonhole  maker  busy  all  the  time  and  he  is  employed  on 
other  work  when  there  is  no  buttonhole  making  to  do.  The  largest 
shops  employ  from  one  to  three  buttonhole  makers. 

There  are  two  types  of  buttonhole-making  machines,  one  made  by 
the  Singer  Co.  and  the  other  known  as  the  Reece  machine.  The 
Reece  is  a  very  rapid  machine  and  is  used  on  the  cheaper  garments. 
The  skill  of  the  buttonhole  maker  lies  not  only  in  operating  the 
machine  and  in  being  able  to  space  properly  the  buttonholes  on  the 
garment,  but  in  his  ability  to  do  the  necessary  repairing  of  the 
machine,  which  is  subject  to  frequent  breakdowns.  Where  girls  are 
employed  they  are  not  expected  to  attend  to  this  part  of  the  work, 
which  falls  on  the  machinist  employed  in  the  factory.  In  several 
shops  the  buttonhole  maker  acts  also  as  a  machinist  and  attends  to 
the  ordinary  repairing  of  all  machines  on  the  premises. 

The  total  number  of  workers  found  recorded  as  buttonhole  makers 
on  the  pay  rolls  of  the  different  firms  was  145  in  1913.  Although  a 
considerable  proportion  of  the  520  shops  do  not  employ  any  button- 
hole makers  at  all,  there  are,  on  the  other  hand,  shops  which  employ 
two  or  three  buttonhole  makers.  It  is  probable  that  the  total  number 
of  buttonhole  makers  in  the  industry  is  double  the  above  number, 
those  not  reported  as  buttonhole  makers  being  included  in  the  group 
''operators  not  specified;"  in  this  group  were  included  all  workers 
designated  on  the  pay  rolls  as  "operators"  but  concerning  whose 
particular  work  the  agents  of  the  wage  scale  board  could  obtain  no 
information.  Since  in  the  majority  of  shops  the  buttonhole  maker 
is  employed  on  other  work  also,  it  is  but  natural  that  he  should  be 
entered  on  the  pay  roll  as  "operator"  instead  of  buttonhole  maker. 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       69 

SEX. 

As  will  be  seen  from  Table  9,  of  the  145  buttonhole  makers  reported 
in  1913,  79  were  men  and  66  women,  this  being  one  of  the  few  occu- 
pations in  the  dress  and  waist  industry  in  which  the  number  of  men 
exceeds  that  of  women. 

WAGES. 

As  will  be  seen  from  Table  11,  the  extent  of  piecework  has  been 
increased  considerably  among  buttonhole  makers;  in  1912  the  week 
workers  constituted  60  per  cent  and  the  pieceworkers  40  per  cent, 
while  in  1913  the  pieceworkers  were  nearly  one-half  of  the  total  or 
48  per  cent,  and  the  week  workers  52  per  cent. 

Week  workers. — Among  the  buttonhole  makers  working  by  the  week, 
as  will  be  seen  from  Table  26  which  follows,  the  wages  in  1913  ranged 
from  $6  to  $14  and  over  among  the  women,  and  from  $8  to  $25  a  week 
and  over  among  the  men.  Of  the  31  men  working  by  the  week  the 
great  majority  earned  $12  and  less  than  $20  a  week.  Of  the  45 
women  more  than  half  earned  $9  and  less  than  $14  a  week.  Among 
both  men  and  women  there  was  an  increase  in  the  number  of  people 
receiving  the  higher  rates  of  wages  and  a  reduction  in  the  number  of 
those  receiving  the  lower  rates. 

Pieceworkers. — Among  women  pieceworkers  the  lowest  earnings 
during  the  busiest  week  in  1913  were  less  than  $3  while  the  highest 
were  in  the  group  $22.50  and  under  $25;  the  men  earned  from  less 
than  $3  a  week  to  $30  a  week  and  over;  25,  or  over  one-half  of 
the  men,  earned  $18  a  week  and  over;  15,  or  about  one-third  of 
the  men,  earned  $10  and  under  $18  a  week.  About  half  of  the 
women  earned  $9  and  under  $14  a  week.  The  same  tendency  toward 
an  increase  in  the  number  of  those  receiving  higher  rates  of  wages 
since  the  protocol  went  into  effect  is  noticeable  among  the  piece- 
workers as  among  the  week  workers.  In  view  of  the  small  number 
no  conclusions  can  be  drawn  as  to  the  difference  in  wages  in  the 
nonassociation  and  association  shops. 


70 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  26.— NUMBER  OF  BUTTONHOLE  MAKERS  (WEEK  WORKERS  AND  PIECE- 
WORKERS) RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  OR  EARNINGS  PER 
WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  SEX. 


Classified  rates  of  wages  or  earnings 
per  week,  and  classes  of  shops. 

Week  workers  receiving  each 
classified  rate  of  wages. 

Pieceworkers  earning  each  classi- 
fied   amount    during    busiest 
week  of  year. 

Females. 

Males. 

Females. 

Males. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

1 

1 

1 

2 

$3  to  $3  99 

2 

$4  to  $4.99  .          ... 

1 

1 
2 
1 
1 
1 
2 
5 
3 
2 
1 

2 
2 
1 
1 
2 
2 
3 
3 
4 
1 
2 
2 

2 
1 

""i 

2 

$5  to  $5  99 

2 

$6  to  $6.99  

3 

7  ' 
7 
7 
11 
9 

1 
3 
7 
8 
11 
13 
2 

$7  to  $7  99  . 

1 
..... 

3 
7 
5 
4 
2 

1 
4 
5 
2 

$8  to  $8.99  

2 
1 
1 

7 
8 
4 
6 

$9  to  $9  99 

$10  to  $11.99  

5 
1 

5 
4 
7 
5 
8 
2 
1 
2 

$12  to  $13.99  

$14  to  $15  99 

$16  to  $17.99  

1 

$18  to  $19.99 

$20  to  $22.49  

$22.50  to  $24  99 

1 

$25  to  $27  49 

2 

1 
1 
1 

$27.50  to  $29.99         

$30  and  over 

1 

Total 

46 

45 

24 

31 

17 

21 

29 

48 

Association  A  

Workers  in  specified  classes  of  shops. 

33 
9 
4 

24 
15 
6 

21 
3 

22 
3 
6 

10 
6 

9 
8 
2 
2 

14 
3 
12 

25 
2 
21 

Association  B 

Nonassociation  A 

Nonassociation  B     

1 

i 

BUTTON  SEWERS. 

What  has  been  said  about  the  number  of  buttonhole  makers  applies 
also  to  button  sewers.  Only  155  persons  were  found  on  the  pay  rolls 
under  the  latter  designation.  Button  sewing  is  a  much  easier  opera- 
tion to  learn  than  buttonhole  making.  The  women  predominate  in 
this,  there  being  136  women  and  only  19  men  button  sewers,  and  the 
rates  of  wages  are  less  than  for  buttonhole  making.  Week  work  is 
much  more  common  than  piecework.  In  1912,  78.4  per  cent  of  the 
women  button  sewers  were  week  workers  and  21.6  per  cent  piece- 
workers. In  1913  the  proportion  of  week  workers  was  still  greater, 
being  83.1  per  cent  as  against  16.9  per  cent  of  pieceworkers.  This 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  number  of  week  workers  increased  much 
faster  than  that  of  pieceworkers,  the  week  workers  having  increased 
from  81  in  1912  to  127  in  1913,  while  the  pieceworkers  increased 
from  22  to  only  28  during  the  same  period. 

WAGES. 

As  will  be  seen  from  Table  27,  which  follows,  the  largest  single 
group  of  button  sewers  were  the  women  week  workers,  who  in  1913 
numbered  113  out  of  a  total  of  155,  or  72.9  per  cent.  The  wages  of 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DEESS   AND    WAIST  INDUSTRY.       71 


these  women  week  workers  ranged  from  $4  to  less  than  $16  a  week; 
15  per  cent  of  these  earned  less  than  $6  a  week;  41.6  per  cent  earned 
$6  and  less  than  $9  a  week,  and  43.4  per  cent  earned  $9  a  week  and 
over.  There  was  a  noticeable  increase  in  1913  over  1912  in  the  pro- 
portion of  those  earning  $9  a  week  and  over  and  a  corresponding 
decrease  in  the  proportion  of  those  receiving  less  than  $9  a  week. 
The  earnings  of  the  women  pieceworkers  do  not  differ  much  from 
those  of  the  week  workers.  The  wages  of  the  few  men  employed  in 
this  trade  are  larger  than  those  of  the  women. 

TABLE  27.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  BUTTON  SEWERS  (WEEK  WORKERS  AND 
PIECEWORKERS)  RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  OR  EARNINGS 
PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  SEX. 


Classified    rates    of 
wages  or  earnings 
per  week,    and 
classes  of  shops. 

Week  workers  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 
wages. 

Pieceworkers  earning  each  classi- 
fied   amount    during   busiest 
week  of  year. 

Females.   . 

Males.i 

Females.1 

Males.i 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3... 

1 

1 

$3  to  *3.99 

2 
3 
1 
1 
3 
1 
1 
4 
1 
2 

$4  to  £4.99  

9 
7 
10 
15 
14 
5 
7 
2 

13 
4 
9 
17 
21 
20 
17 
11 
1 

13.0 
10.1 
14.5 
21.7 
20.3 
7.2 
10.1 
2.9 

11.5 
3.5 
8.0 
15.0 
18.6 
17.7 
15.0 
9.7 
.9 

$5  to  $5.99 

1 
1 

2 
4 
3 

$6  to  $6.99 

$7  to  $7.99  

3 
1 

$8  to  $8.99  

$9  to  $9.99 

1 
5 
2 

1 

2 
6 

$10  to  $11.99  
$12  to  $13.99 

6 
3 
3 

1 
1 
1 

2 
1 

$14  to  $15.99  

$16toSl7.99  

1 

$18  to  $19.99 

$20  to  $22.49  

1 
1 

1 
1 

$22.50  to  $24.99 

$25  to  $27.49 

$27.50  to  $29.99  

Total  
Association  A  

69 

113 

100.0 

100.0 

28 

311 

19 

11 
8 

23 

9 
9 
4 
1 

47 

6 
1 

58 

6 
1 
1 

68 

85 

8 

6 

Association  B     . 

Nonassociation  A  ... 
Nonassociation  B  

1 

27 
1 

5 

1  Percentages  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

2  Not  including  4  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

3  Not  including  3  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

4  Including  4  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

5  Including  3  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

CLOSERS  AND  HEMMERS. 

The  operation  of  closing  consists  in  sewing  together  the  front  and 
back  parts  of  the  waist,  forming  the  seam  on  each  side  of  the  waist. 
On  cheap  waists  this  work  is  done  on  the  Union  Special  machine. 
This  machine  works  very  fast,  and  since  it  automatically  cuts  off  the 
raw  edge  and  finishes  off  the  seam  on  the  wrong  side  all  in  one  opera- 
tion, it  offers  the  least  expensive  way  of  doing  this  work.  Another 
machine  is  the  Metropolitan,  which  automatically  puts  on  a  binding 


72  BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

on  the  wrong  side  of  the  waist.  On  the  better  grade  garments  the 
so-called  French  seam  is  used,  which  involves  three  operations :  First,  ; 
the  sewing  together  of  the  two  parts  of  the  waist  on  the  right  side;  5 
second,  the  cutting  off  of  the  raw  edges;  third,  the  turning  over  and  ; 
sewing  of  the  second  seam  on  the  wrong  side.  Some  machines  are  j 
equipped  with  a  knife  which  automatically  cuts  off  the  raw  edge,  i 
but  most  of  the  factories  still  do  without  the  automatic  knife,  and  ; 
scissors  are  employed  instead. 

The  hemming  consists  in  hemming  the  bottom  of  the  waist  by  j 
means  of  an  attachment  known  as  "the  hemmer,"  which  automat- 
ically turns  the  garment  so  that  the  turning  in  of  the  hem  and  the 
stitching  it  over  is  all  done  in  one  operation. 

The  number  of  closers  and  hemmers  in  1913  is  given  in  Table  8  at 
only  134,  which  is  manifestly  less  than  the  total  number  employed 
in  the  shops,  the  majority  of  the  closers  and  hemmers  being  included 
in  the  group  "Operators  not  specified,"-  for  reasons  explained  under 
that  head.  The  number  of  pieceworkers  was  practically  the  same 
both  years,  being  53  in  1912  and  56  in  1913  (Table  11).  Week  work- 
ers, on  the  other  hand,  increased  from  51  to  78,  which  makes  the  pro- 
portion of  pieceworkers  smaller  in  1913  than  in  19 12,  namely ,  42  per 
cent  in  1913,  as  against  51  per  cent  in  1912.  Of  the  134  closers  and 
hemmers  reported,  104  were  women  and  30  were  men. 

SEX. 

Most  of  the  closers  are  women,  while  most  of  the  hemmers  are  men, 
since  speed  is  the  chief  consideration  in  hemming.  Where  the  Metro- 
politan machine  is  used  for  closing,  men  are  preferred  because  the 
machine  is  a  very  fast  and  complicated  one  and  requires  the  handling 
of  the  binding  tape  at  the  same  time  when  the  sewing  proper  is  being 
done. 

Prior  to  the  conclusion  of  the  protocol,  most  of  the  closing  and 
hemming  was  done  by  subcontractors.  Since  subcontracting  has 
been  prohibited  under  the  protocol,  the  work  is  being  done  as  a  rule 
by  two  partners,  who  frequently  have  one  assistant.  Under  this 
system  one  of  the  partners  attends  to  the  hemming  and  the  other  to 
the  closing.  If  an  assistant  is  employed  in  addition,  the  partner  who 
does  the  closing  puts  in  the  first  seam,  leaving  the  assistant  to  cut  off 
the  raw  edge  and  put  in  the  second  seam. 

WAGES. 

As  will  be  seen  from  Table  28,  in  1913,  of  the  64  women  closers 
working  by  the  week,  35,  or  nearly  55  per  cent,  received  $10  and  less 
than  $18  a  week;  28,  or  nearly  44  per  cent,  received  less  than  $10;  one- 
fourth  of  all  the  women  received  $6  and  less  than  $9  a  week;  one-fourth 
received  $12  and  less  than  $18  a  week.  A  little  less  than  one-half 
received  $9  and  less  than  $12. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.       73 


A  slight  change  is  noticeable  in  the  earnings  between  1912  and 
1913,  the  most  noticeable  increase  occurring  in  the  proportion  of  those 
receiving  from  $9  to  $9.99  a  week. 

The  number  of  men  workers  and  women  workers  working  by  the 
piece  was  too  small  to  warrant  any  general  conclusions.  Details  will 
be  found  in  Table  28. 

TABLE  28.— NUMBER  OF  CLOSERS  AND  HEMMERS  (WEEK  WORKERS  AND  PIECEWORK- 
ERS) RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  OR  EARNINGS  PER  WEEK,  1912 
AND  1913,  BY  SEX. 


Classified  rates  of  wages  or  earnings 
per  week,  and  classes  of  shops. 

Week  workers  receiving  each 
classified  rate  of  wages. 

Pieceworkers  earning  each  classi- 
fied   amount    during    busiest 
week  of  year. 

Females. 

Males. 

Females. 

Males. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  £3 

1 

S3  to  S3  9°> 

$4  toS4  99  

3 
2 
4 
3 

6 
4 
7" 
7 
3 
4 

15  to  So  99 

2 
3 
5 
2 
3 
12 
6 
6 

2 
5 
2 
9 
10 
19 
7 
8 
1 
1 

1 

2 
3 
4 
4 
6 
4 
6 
5 
1 
1 
3 

1 

$6  to  $6  99 

$  7  to  ?7  99              

i 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
1 

$8  to  *S  99 

1 

89  to  ?9  .99  

1 

2 
4 
2 

1 
1 
1 
.2 

$10  to  $11  99                                

$12  toS13  99 

$14  to  $15.99  

3 
1 
1 

$16  to  S17  99                                        ... 

$18  to  ?10  99 

?20  t  o  $29  49 

2 

1 

$2^  oO  to  S24  99      . 

2 

$25  to  S27  49 

1 

$27.50  to  S29.99  

$30  and  over 

Total 

IM 

64 

11 

14 

245  i          40 

9 

16 

A  ssocia  tion  A  

Workers  in  specified  classes  of  shops. 

26 
9 
4 

35 
15 
10 
4 

10 

10 
2 
2 

19 
23 
3 

17 
20 
3 

1 

4 
4 

1 

4 
11 

Association  B  . 

Nonassocifition  A 

1 

Nonassociation  B 



1  Not  including  1  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rate  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

2  Including  1  week  worker  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rate  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

DRESSMAKERS. 

Dressmakers  are  operators  of  the  highest  skill,  for  they  are 
required  to  make  an  entire  dress  including  both  the  hand  and  machine 
sewing  as  well  as  the  draping.  Dressmakers  are  employed  on  high- 
grade  dresses  and  gowns  only.  Most  of  the  dressmakers  employed 
have  learned  their  trade  in  Europe.  Those  who  have  learned  the 
trade  in  this  country  come  into  the  industry  fully  apprenticed 
outside.  Good  dressmakers  are  promoted  to  positions  of  high- 
class  examiners  at  wages  running  from  $16  to  $20  a  week  and  of  high- 
class  drapers  at  similar  wages. 


74  BULLETIN   OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

Of  late  years,  since  cheap  dresses  have  come  to  be  produced  in 
large  quantities,  operators  engaged  in  making  lingerie  and  cheap 
dresses  have  also  come  to  be  known  as  dressmakers.  This  class  of 
dressmakers  likewise  works  on  the  entire  dress,  but  confines  its  work 
chiefly  to  machine  operating,  the  band  sewing  being  done  by  the 
finishers  and  the  draping  by  the  drapers. 

If  we  are  to  understand  dressmaking  in  this  broader  sense,  there 
are  probably  a  few  thousand  of  these  workers,  most  of  them  appear- 
ing in  Table  8  as  "  operators  not  specified/'  of  whom  6,455  are 
given  in  that  table  (these  are  discussed  more  fully  on  pp.  99-104), 
while  only  440  were  found  described  as  dressmakers  on  the  pay  rolls 
of  the  factories  investigated. 

SEX. 

Women  predominate  among  dressmakers.  Of  the  440  dress- 
makers reported  for  1913,  350,  or  80  per  cent,  were  women  and  90,  or 
20  per  cent,  were  men .  In  high-grade  dressmaking  men  are  employed 
mostly  on  dresses  of  heavy  material,  such  as  velvets,  serges,  woolens, 
ratines,  etc.,  while  the  women  are  employed  on  light  materials, 

such  as  silks,  chiffons,  voiles,  etc. 

• 

WAGES. 

Of  the  440  dressmakers  found  on  the  pay  rolls  for  1913,  369,  or 
84  per  cent,  worked  by  the  piece  and  only  71,  or  16  per  cent,  worked 
by  the  week.  The  percentage  of  pieceworkers  in  1912,  before  the 
protocol  went  into  effect,  was  somewhat  less — namely,  81  per  cent. 
As  will  be  seen  from  Table  29,  the  largest  single  group  of  dressmakers 
consisted  of  women  pieceworkers,  of  whom  there  were  294,  or  67  per 
cent  of  the  total.  Of  these  4.1  per  cent  wer3  found  earning  less 
than  $6  a  week  in  1913;  5.8  per  cent  earned  $6  and  less  than  $9  a 
week;  22.8  per  cent,  or  almost  one-fourth,  earned  less  than  312; 
19.7  per  cent,  or  almost  one-fifth,  earned  $20  a  week  and  over; 
57.5  per  cent,  or  more  than  one-half,  earned  $12  and  less  than  $20  a 
week. 

The  men  pieceworkers'  earnings  are,  as  usual,  much  higher  than 
those  of  the  women.  Thus,  there  were  no  men  dressmakers  earning 
less  than  $6  a  week,  2.7  per  cent  earned  $6  and  less  than  $9  a 
week,  or  nearly  one-half  of  the  percentage  of  women.  Of  those 
earning  $9  and  less  than  $14  a  week  there  were  over  9  per  cent  among 
men  as  against  more  than  27  per  cent  among  women.  While  only 
20  per  cent  of  the  women  pieceworkers  earned  $20  a  week  and  over, 
72  per  cent  of  the  men  earned  that  amount.  Both  the  men  and  the 
women  pieceworkers  show  a  higher  percentage  of  workers  in  the 
higher-wage  groups  in  1913  as  compared  with  1912  and  a  lower  per- 
centage in  the  lower-wage  groups. 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.       75 


The  number  of  week  workers  both,  in  1912  and  1913  is  too  small 
to  serve  as  the  basis  of  any  general  conclusions.  The  details  will  be 
found  in  Table  29,  which  follows: 

TABLE  29 NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  DRESSMAKERS  (WEEK  WORKERS  AND  PIECE- 
WORKERS) RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  OR  EARNINGS  PER 
WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  SEX. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  or  earnings 
per    week,    and 
claases  of  shops. 

Week  workers  receiving 
each  classified  rate  of 
wages. 

Pieceworkers  earning  each  classified  amount  during 
busiest  week  of  year. 

Females.1 

Males.i 

Females. 

Males. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  S3 

5 
1 

2 
7 
7 
4 
11 
17 
40 
43 
41 
36 
24 
18 
14 
4 
2 
1 

4 

1.8 
.4 

1.4 

§3  to  *3  99 

1 

i  99 

5 
3 
4 
5 
8 
11 
27 
42 
50 
44 
33 
33 
17 
3 
3 
2 

.7 
2.5 
2.5 
1.5 
3.9 
6.2 
14.4 
15.5 
14.8 
13.0 
8.7 
6.5 
5.0 
1.5 
.  7 
.4 

1.7 
1.0 
1.4 
1.7 
2.7 
3.7 
9.2 
14.3 
17.0 
15.0 
11.2 
11.2 
5.8 
1.0 
1.0 
.7 

$5  to  So  99 

j 

$6toS6.99  
$7  to  87  99 

1 

3 

4 
18 
17 
8 
8 
3 
3 

1 

3 
2 

2 
10 

18 
7 
10 
1 
2 

1 

1.3 
1.3 

1 
1 
2 
1 

2 
2 
3 
2 
6 
2 
6 
3 
13 

1 

2.3 
2.3 

4.5 
2.3 
4.5 
4.5 
6.8 
4.5 
13.6 
4.5 
13.6 
6.8 
29.5 

•  1)9  
19  to  89.99  

$1010  Sll  99 

1 
1 
1 

5 
2 

1 
4 
7 
13 
8 
8 
7 
"18 

6.7 
2.7 
1.3 
5.3 
9.3 
17.3 
10.7 
10.7 
9.3 
24.0 

$12  to  $13.99  

1 

11 
2 

$14  to  $15.99 

$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19.99  

2 
2 

$20toS22.49 

$22  50  to  $24  99 

$25  to  §27.49  .... 

$27.50  to  $29.99  . 

$30  and  over 

Total  

Association  A  
Association  B  

Nonassociation  A  .  . 
Nonassociation  B  .  . 

68 

56 

7 

15 

277 

294 

100.0 

100.0 

44 

75 

100.0 

100.0 

Workers  in  specified  classes  of  shops. 

34 
14 
13 

7 

37 

1 

4 

5 

69 
195 
10 
3 

132 

iai 

10 

12 
15 
14 
3 

49 
21 
2 
3 

3 

10 

:::::::: 

1  Percentages  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 
HEMSTITCHERS. 

The  hemstitching  machine  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  to  operate. 
Instead  of  the  one  needle  which  the  operator  has  to  watch  in  an 
ordinary  sewing  machine,  there  are  two  needles  and  the  so-called 
"plunger/'  which  makes  the  holes  in  the  material  that  is  hemstitched. 
It  requires  great  skill  and  patience  to  operate  the  machine  and  to 
handle  the  material.  At  every  turn  and  change  of  direction  the 
threads  easily  get  tangled,  and  the  machine  breaks  down  frequently. 
As  hemstitching  is  always  done  for  decorative  purposes,  it  generally 
takes  the  form  of  intricate  designs,  curves,  and  other  figures,  which 
are  frequently  carried  out  on  the  edge  <ef  laces  or  fine  embroideries. 

Most  of  the  hemstitchers  graduate  into  that  work  after  they  have 
been  operating  a  machine  or  doing  simpler  kinds  of  work,  such  as 


76  BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

repairing,  lace  running,  etc.  In  some  cases,  girls  who  show  sufficient 
intelligence  are  put  to  work  on  a  hemstitching  machine  from  the  veryj 
start  and  are  taught  the  trade.  It  takes  about  a  week  to  train  a 
worker  to  handle  a  hemstitching  machine.  The  skill  of  the  worker, 
however,  naturally  increases  as  time  goes  on,  resulting  in  an  increase 
of  output  as  well  as  in  better  work. 

Only  a  few  shops,  comparatively,  employ  hemstitchers.  In  most 
shops,  there  is  insufficient  work  to  keep  a  hemstitching  machine  busy 
all  the  time,  and  the  hemstitching  is  contracted  out  to  special  shops. 

SEX. 

The  peculiarity  of  the  hemstitcher's  occupation,  as  just  explained, 
makes  it  distinctly  a  woman's  trade,  for,  as  explained  before  in 
discussing  the  work  of  operators,  men,  as  a  rule,  are  more  adapted 
lor  work  which  requires  either  greater  physical  endurance  or  speed. 
Of  the  180  hemstitchers  reported  for  1913  only  10  were  men. 

WAGES. 

The  nature  of  the  hemstitcher's  work  is  not  favorable  to  compen- 
sation on  a  piece  basis.  It  is  impossible  for  an  operator  to  do  the 
work  any  faster  than  the  machine  and  the  character  of  the  work 
will  permit.  Patience  and  skill  are  the  chief  requirements.  There 
is,  therefore,  a  general  consensus  of  opinion  in  the  trade,  both  among 
the  workers  and  the  employers,  that  hemstitchers  should  be  paid 
on  a  weekly  basis.  Therefore,  although  no  provision  has  been  made 
in  the  protocol  for  a  minimum  weekly  rate,  more  than  eight-tenths 
of  all  the  hemstitchers  were  employed  on  a  weekly  basis,  the  exact 
proportion  in  1913  being  86  per  cent  of  week  workers  and  14  per 
cent  of  pieceworkers.  Of  the  180  hemstitchers,  only  8  were  found 
employed  in  nonassociation  shops.  Of  the  172  hemstitchers  employed 
in  the  association  shops,  155  were  week  workers  (including  7  men) 
and  25  were  pieceworkers  (including  3  men).  The  bulk  of  the  hom- 
stitchers  were,  therefore,  women  week  workers  whose  wages  will  now 
be  considered. 

As  will  be  seen  from  Table  30,  the  largest  single  group  among  the 
women  week  workers  were  those  receiving  $12  and  less  than  $14  a 
week,  who  constituted  33.8  per  cent,  or  one-third,  of  all  the  women 
week  workers.  Over  one-fourth  of  the  women  received  $10  and  less 
than  $12  a  week;  over  9  per  cent  of  the  women  received  $9  and  less 
than  $10  a  week;  over  12  per  cent  received  $6  and  less  than  $9; 
2  girls  received  less  than  $6  a  week,  and  26  women,  constituting  less 
than  18  per  cent  of  the  total,  received  $14  a  week  and  over. 

As  in  the  case  of  most  other  workers,  the  hemstitchers  show  a 
decided  improvement  in  wages  since  the  protocol  went  into  effect. 
The  percentage  of  those  receiving  $6  and  less  than  $10  a  week 
declined  from  25.9  per  cent  to  21.5  per  cent;  and  of  those  getting 
from  $10  to  $11.99  from  nearly  39  per  cent  to  less  than  26  per  cent. 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS  AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.       77 


On  the  other  hand,  the  percentage  of  those  getting  from  $12  to 
$13.99  increased  from  21.5  per  cent  to  33.8  per  cent,  and  of  those 
receiving  $14  a  week  and  over  from  8.6  per  cent  to  17.6  per  cent. 
Further  details  as  to  the  earnings  of  hemstitchers  will  be  found  in 
Table  30. 

TABLE  30.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  HEMSTITCHERS  (WEEK  WORKERS  AND 
PIECEWORKERS)  RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  OR  EARNINGS 
PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  SEX. 


Classified    rates    of 
wages  or  earnings 
per     week,     and 
classes  of  shops. 

Week  workers  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 
wages. 

Pieceworkers  earning  each  clas- 
sified amount  during  busiest 
week  of  year. 

Females. 

Males.! 

Females.1 

Males.i 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

1 

$3  to  S3  99 

I 

$4  to  §4  99 

2 
3 
5 
4 
9 
6 
36 
20 

1 

1 
1 
4 
5 
9 
14 
38 
50 
20 
5 
1 

2.1 
3.2 
5.4 
4.3 
9.7 
6.5 
38.7 
21.5 
7.5 
1.1 

0.7 
.7 
2.7 
3.4 
6.0 
9.4 
25.7 
33.8 
13.5 
3.4 
.7 

15  to  $5  99 

1 
2 
1 

|6  to  $6  99 

$7  to  $7.99  

$8  to  $8  99 

1 

1 

|9  to  $9  99 

$10  to  $11.99 

6 
2 
4 
1 
2 
1 

1 

112  to  $13  99 

1 
1 

3 
2 
1 

2 

1 

$14  to  $15.  99  

1 

$161o$17  99 

$18  to  $19  99 

$20  to  $22  49                 1 

j 

1 

$22  50  to  $24  99 

1 

Total  

Association  A  
Association  B 

, 

93 

148 

100.0 

100.0 

2 

7 

5 

22 

3 

Workers  in  specified  classes  of  shops. 

14 
75 
1 
3 

27 
115 
1 
5 

1 

4 

\ 

6 
16 

3 

2 

Nonassociation  A... 
Nonassociation  B  .  .  . 

I 

1 

2 

1  Percentages  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 
LACE  RUNNERS. 

Lace  running  is  one  of  the  least  skilled  occupations  among  the 
operators.  It  is  the  first  work  given  to  young  girls  who  are  put  to 
work  at  a  machine.  The  work  of  "lace  running"  consists  in  joining 
strips  of  lace  to  strips  of  cloth  or  other  lace  of  various  widths.  Most 
lace  running  is  done  in  long  strips  which  may  run  into  the  hundreds 
of  yards,  but  there  is  also  considerable  work  done  on  short  pieces 
which  go  into  individual  waists.  The  skill  of  the  lace  runner  con- 
sists in  handling  the  lace  carefully  and  running  the  material  and  the 
lace  in  such  a  manner  that  the  machine  is  operated  steadily  without 
a  break  and  so  that  the  unraveling  of  the  lace  and  the  cloth,  which 
are  wound  up  in  rolls,  takes  place  almost  automatically  without 
requiring  the  stopping  of  the  machine  on  the  part  of  the  operator. 


78 


BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUEEAU   OF   LABOK   STATISTICS. 


Although  it  takes  only  a  few  days  to  loam  lace  running,  the  operator 
acquires  greater  skill  and  therefore  greater  productive  capacity  in 
the  course  of  time,  which  accounts  for  the  fact  that  the  wages  of 
lace  runners  vary  all  the  way  from  $5  to  $16  a  week  and  over. 

SEX. 

Practically  all  the  lace  running  is  done  by  girls.  Of  the  113  lace 
runners  reported  in  Table  8,  only  10  were  men,  the  remainder  being 
girls. 

WAGES. 

Most  lace  runners  are  paid  by  the  week.  Of  the  113  reported,  as 
will  be  seen  from  Table  11,  four-fifths  were  week  workers  in  1913. 
In  1912  only  17  per  cent  were  pieceworkers. 

As  will  be  seen  from  Table  31,  which  follows,  more  than  one-half 
of  the  83  women  lace  runners  paid  by  the  week  received  $10  and  less 
than  $14  a  week.  More  than  one-tenth  received  $14  a  week  and  over. 
Nearly  one-fifth  of  the  workers  received  $6  and  less  than  $9;  2  lace 
runners  received  less  than  $6  a  week.  Of  the  7  men  lace  runners, 
1  received  from  $8  to  $8.99  a  week  and  6  received  $14  and  less  than 
$18  a  week.  The  earnings  of  the  pieceworkers  as  well  as  further 
details  as  to  the  week  workers  will  be  found  in  Table  31. 

Both  the  week  workers  and  the  pieceworkers  show  a  marked  increase 
since  the  protocol  went  into  effect  in  the  number  of  those  earning  $9 
and  less  than  $20  a  week,  with  a  corresponding  decline  in  the  number 
of  those  receiving  less  than  $9. 

TABLE  31.— NUMBER  OF  LACE  RUNNERS  (WEEK  WORKERS  AND  PIECEWORKERS) 
RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  OR  EARNINGS  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND 
1913,  BY  SEX. 


Classified  rates  of  wages  or  earnings 
per  week,  and  classes  of  shops. 

Week  workers  receiving  each 
classified  rate  of  wages. 

Pieceworkers  earning  each  classi- 
fied   amount   during    busiest 
week  of  year. 

Females. 

Males. 

Females. 

Males. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

. 

$3  to  $3  99 

2 
1 
1 

$4  to  $4.99 

3 
1 
13 
12 

7 
8 
8 
19 

7 

1 
1 
2 
7 
7 
14 
21 
21 
6 
3 

$5  to  $5  99 

1 

$6  to  $6.99  

$7  to  $7.99                          .   . 

1 
2 
1 
3 

1 
1 
3 
5 
4 

$8  to  $8.99 

1 

$9  to  $9.99  

$10  to  $11.99                       .   . 

2 

$12  to  $13.99  

$14  to  $15.99  

2 
1 
1 
1 

4 
2 

1 
2 

1 

2 
2 
1 

1 
1 

$16  to  $17.99.   .   . 

$18  to  $19.99 

$20  to  $22.49  

3 

1 

Total  

8 

83 

8 

7 

17 

20 

3 

Association  A  

Workers  in  specified  classes  of  shops. 

52 
23 
3 

57 
25 

1 

6 

1 

3 
2 
2 

14 
3 

18 

Association  B  

2 

1 

Nonassociation  A  

2 

WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       79 
SAMPLE  MAKERS. 

Sample  makers  are  operators  who  are  engaged  in  making  samples 
of  new  garments  from  models  furnished  by  the  designer.  They  also 
assist  the  designer  in  the  preparation  of  new  models.  This  work 
naturally  calls  for  operators  of  the  highest  skill.  Most  of  the  sample 
makers  are  experienced  dressmakers  or  waist  operators  and  are  drawn 
from  those  classes  of  workers.  Sample  makers  who  have  acquired  con- 
siderable experience  in  their  work  and  have  a  bent  for  original 
designing  graduate  into  designers. 

SEX. 

Practically  all  sample  makers  are  women.  Of  the  580  sample 
makers  reported  in  Table  9  for  1913,  only  21,  or  3.6  per  cent,  were 
men. 

WAGES. 

The  nature  of  the  sample  maker's  work  makes  the  piece-rate  sys- 
tem impractical.  Of  the  580  sample  makers  only  8  were  found  to 
be  doing  piecework  in  1913.  As  will  be  seen  from  Table  32,  the 
largest  single  group  of  sample  makers  were  those  receiving  $14  and 
less  than  $16  a  week,  most  of  whom  received  the  minimum  protocol 
rate  of  $14.  This  group  constituted  more  than  42  per  cent  of  the 
total.  Those  getting  $16  and  less  than  $20  a  week  exceeded  27  per 
cent  of  the  total.  The  number  of  those  receiving  less  than  the 
protocol  rate  of  $14  a  week  exceeded  26  per  cent  of  the  total.  The 
number  of  those  receiving  less  than  $6  a  week  was  very  small,  amount- 
ing to  1.5  per  cent  of  all  the  sample  makers.  The  number  of  those 
receiving  $20  a  week  and  over  was  nearly  4  per  cent  of  the  total. 

An  examination  of  the  figures  showing  the  wages  of  sample  makers 
in  the  four  branches  of  the  industry  shows  that,  in  each  case,  the 
largest  number  falls  in  the  group  of  $14  and  less  than  $16  a  week  with 
the  exception  of  the  non association  B  shops  in  which  the  largest 
number  is  in  the  group  of  $18  and  less  than  $20  a  week.  However, 
the  number  of  sample  makers  in  the  nonassociation  shops  is  so  small 
as  hardly  to  warrant  any  general  conclusions. 

The  figures  in  the  two  columns  of  Table  32  showing  the  percentage 
of  the  total  number  of  sample  makers  receiving  different  rates  of 
wages  in  1912  and  1913  and  Chart  8  which  presents  these  figures  in 
graphic  form  are  very  instructive.  The  largest  group  both  in  1912 
and  1913  consisted  of  employees  receiving  $14  and  under  $16  a  week, 
the  minimum  protocol  rate  being  $14,  but  the  percentage  in  this  group 
was  much  larger  in  1913  than  in  1912,  being  nearly  43  per  cent  in 
1913  and  only  30  per  cent  in  1912.  In  1912  the  percentage  receiv- 
ing $12  and  under  $14  was  almost  as  high  as  for  those  receiving 
$14  and  under  $16,  being  nearly  28  per  cent,  but  fell  to  a  little  over 
15  per  cent  in  1913.  Beginning  with  the  $14  rate  the  figures,  in  all 
cases  but  one,  show  a  larger  percentage  of  sample  makers  receiving 


80 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR    STATISTICS. 


the  higher  rates  in  1913  as  compared  with  1912.  The  reverse  is 
true  of  those  receiving  rates  below  $14  a  week  where  the  1913  per- 
centages are  in  nearly  all  cases  below  those  in  1912. 

TABLE  32 NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  SAMPLE  MAKERS,  FEMALE,  WEEK  WORKERS,! 

RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,.  BY  CLASS 
OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  rates  of  . 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

NonassociatioB 

A.2 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 

B.2 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

$4  to  $4  99 

4 
4 
1 
1 

7 
13 
20 
95 
91 
50 
32 
7 

3 
4 
3 
1 
3 
13 
17 
55 
113 
48 
25 
5 

4 
4 
2 
4 
9 
21 
36 
145 
157 
80 
45 
11 
2 
3 

3 

5 
3 
1 

5 
15 
28 
83 
232 
91 
57 
16 
2 
4 

«K    f  n   «K   QQ 

1 

1 

$7  to  $7  99 

2 
1 
6 
11 
43 
56 
22 
10 
2 
1 

1 

CO   f  n  «C  OQ 

2 
2 
9 
25 
94 
30 
19 
5 

1 
1 
5 
6 
4 
5 
1 

$9  to  S-9  99 

~"i" 

1 
20 
5 
2 

1 

$10  to  811  99 

1 

2 
5 
8 
11 
6 
2 
3 

$12  to  $13.99 

1 
6 
3 
2 
2 
1 
1 

$14  to  $15.99  

$16  to  $17.99  

$18  to  $19.99 

^20  to  ^2  4° 

$29  50  to  S24  99 

$25  to  $97  49 

2 

1 

Total  

154 

187 

24 

29 

327 

291 

18 

38 

3523 

<545 

PER  CENT. 


$1  to  $4  99 

x 

1.2 

1.0 

0.8 

0.6 

$5  to  $5  99 

0.5 

1.2 

1.3 

.8 

.9 

$6  to  $6  99 

.3 

1.0 

.4 

.6 

$7  to  $7  99 

1  3 

.3 

.3 

.8 

.2 

$8  to  $8  99 

.6 

1.0 

2.1 

1.0 

1.7 

.9 

$9  to  $9  99 

3  9 

1.0 

4.0 

4.5 

4.0 

2.8 

$10  to  Sll  99 

7  2 

4  8 

6  1 

5.9 

6.9 

5.1 

$12  to  $13  99 

28  0 

13.4 

29.1 

19.0 

27.8 

15.3 

$14  to  $15  99 

36  4 

50.3 

27.9 

38.9 

30.0 

42.6 

$16  to  $17  99 

14  2 

16  1 

15.3 

16.5 

15  3 

16.7 

$18  to  §19  99 

6  5 

10.2 

9.8 

8.6 

8.6 

10.5 

$20  to  $22  49 

1  3 

2.7 

2.1 

1.7 

2.1 

2.9 

$22  50  to  $24.99 

.6 

.4 

.3 

$25  to  $27  49 

.6 

.3 

.6 

.7 

Total 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

SUMMARY  OF  PERCENTAGES. 


Under  $14 

41  0 

20  7 

44  3 

34  0 

43  o 

26  4 

$14  to  $15.99  

36.4 

50.3 

27.9 

38.9 

30.0 

42.6 

$16  and  over  

22.6 

29.0 

27.8 

27.1 

27.0 

31.2 

Total 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.  0 

100.0 

1  In  addition  to  the  week  workers  shown  in  this  table  there  were  2  pieceworkers,  female,  and  1  piece- 
worker, male,  in  1912,  and  8  pieceworkers,  female,  in  1913. 

2  Percentages  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

8  Not  including  17  week  workers,  female,  and  14  week  workers,  male,  for  whom  weekly  rates  of  wages 
could  not  be  ascertained. 

4  Not  including  6  week  workers,  female,  and  21  week  workers,  male,  for  whom  weekly  rates  of  wages 
could  not  be  ascertained. 

SKIRT  OPERATORS. 

The  work  of  skirt  operators  consists  chiefly  in  sewing  together 
parts  of  skirts  in  long  vertical  seams  and,  the  work  being  quite 
simple,  the  quantity  of  output  is  the  chief  consideration.  This  ena- 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.       81 

les  men  to  compete  to  a  large  extent  with  women  in  this  trade, 
especially  in  making  skirts  of  heavy  materials.  In  lingerie  dresses, 
where  the  material  is  light  and  where  there  is  a  good  deal  of  lace 
inserting  to  be  done,  women  are  fully  as  competent  as  men  and  in 
many  cases  are  preferred.  A  skirt  operator  is  apprenticed  usually  by 
working  as  assistant  to  an  experienced  operator.  He  is  first  shown 
how  to  make  the  simpler  seams  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  skirt  and 

CHART  8.— PER  CENT  OF  SAMPLE  MAKERS,  FEMALE  (WEEK  WORKERS) 
RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND 
1913. 


40 

35 
SO 

~>r 

A 

*»* 

40 
35 
30 
Z5 
20 
15 
/O 

5 

0% 

A 

/  \ 

Weekly  Rates  of 
es  of  Sample  Makers. 

912    

7/9                           - 

r] 

"\ 
\ 

\ 

20 
15 
70 
5 
<% 

_    WaS 
/ 

/ 

i 

\ 

\ 

'/. 

1 

I 

1 

/ 

/ 

s 

v\ 

2 

\\ 

\ 

\ 

__ 



/, 

^/ 

/^ 

—  —  .^—  — 

—^—  —  . 

X 

^ 

^, 

$4     $5      $6     $7     $3     $9     $10  $12  $14  $16  $16  $20  $22          $24-          $26  $23 


gradually  is  taught  the  more  difficult  parts  of  the  work.     It  takes 
about  the  length  of  a  season  to  train  a  fairly  skilled  skirt  operator. 


SEX. 

Of  the  399  skirt  operators  reported  for  1913,  228,  or  a  little  over 
57  per  cent,  were  women  and  171,  or  almost  43  per  cent,  were  men. 

-  WAGES. 

Speed  being  the  chief  factor  in  making  skirts,  it  is  natural  that  the 

work  should  be  paid  by  the  piece.     During  1913  two- thirds  of  all 

the  skirt  operators  reported  were  paid  by  the  piece.     In  1912  the 

percentage  of  piece  workers  was  slightly  larger,  namely,  72  per  cent. 

42132°— Bull.  146—14 6 


82  BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 

Of  the  399  skirt  operators,  340,  or  85  per  cent,  were  employed  in 
association  shops  and  only  59,  or  15  per  cent,  in  nonassociation 
shops. 

Earnings  of  pieceworkers. — As  will  be  seen  from  Table  33,  over  51 
per  cent,  or  more  than  one-half  of  the  170  women  paid  by  the  piece, 
earned  from  $18  a  week  to  $30  a  week  or  over  during  the  busiest 
week  of  1913;  more  than  one-fifth  of  all  the  women  pieceworkers 
earned  from  $22.50  to  $24.99;  17.5  per  cent,  or  about  one-sixth, 
earned  $9  and  less  than  $14  a  week;  only  3  per  cent  earned  less  than 
$9  a  week. 

The  proportion  of  men  earning  the  higher  rates  of  wages  was  even 
higher  than  that  of  the  women.  Nearly  three-fourths  (73  per  cent) 
of  all  the  men  pieceworkers  earned  from  $18  to  $30  and  over  during 
the  busiest  week;  the  number  of  those  earning  less  than  $9  a  week 
formed  less  than  4  per  cent  of  the  total. 

Comparing  the  earnings  of  men  pieceworkers  in  1912  and  1913, 
there  is  a  decline  in  the  percentage  of  those  earning  less  than  $14  a 
week.  Those  earning  $14  and  less  than  $18  a  week  show  practi- 
cally the  same  percentage  both  years;  those  earning  $18  and  less 
than  $25  a  week  increased  from  over  34  per  cent  in  1912  to  over  52 
per  cent  in  1913.  On  the  other  hand,  the  number  of  those  earning 
$25  a  week  and  over  declined  from  29.5  per  cent  in  1912  to  20.6  per 
cent  in  1913. 

Among  the  women  pieceworkers,  similar  changes  in  the  earnings 
occurred;  that  is  to  say,  there  was  a  decline  in  the  proportion  of 
those  earning  the  lower  rates  of  wages  and  an  increase  in  the  number 
of  those  earning  the  medium  amounts  and  a  decline  in  the  number 
of  those  earning  $25  a  week  or  more. 

Wages  of  week  workers. — The  number  of  week  workers  being  com- 
paratively small,  only  58  among  the  women  and  64  among  the  men, 
no  general  conclusions  can  be  drawn.  It  is  interesting  to  note, 
however,  that  of  the  64  men  week  workers,  38,  or  more  than  one- 
half,  received  from  $16  to  $22.49  a  week;  18,  or  more  than  one-fourth, 
received  $20  a  week  and  over.  Only  1  received  $4  and  less  than  $5 
a  week  and  2  received  $6  and  less  than  $7  a  week. 

Of  the  58  women  week  workers,  22  received  $9  and  less  than  $14; 
15  received  $14  and  less  than  $18  a  week;  4  girls  received  less  than 
$6  a  week,  and  14  received  $6  and  less  than  $9.  Further  details 
as  to  the  wages  of  skirt  operators  will  be  found  in  Table  33. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       83 


TABLE  33 — NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  SKIRT  OPERATORS  CWEEK  WORKERS  AND 
PIECEWORKERS)  RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  OR  EARNINGS 
PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  SEX. 


Classified    rates   of 
wages  or  earnings 
per    week,    and 
classes  of  shops. 

Week   workers   receiv- 
•   ing     each    classified 
rate  of  wages. 

Pieceworkers  earning  each  classified  amount  during 
busiest  week  of  year. 

Females.1 

Males.i 

Females. 

Males. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3  .  .  . 

11 

1 

6.1 

0.6 

1 

0.9 

$3to.«3.99  

2 

$4  to  84.99  

2 

1 

$5  to  85.99  

1 
4 
4 
5 
8 
15 
9 
5 
1 

2 
2 
8 
4 
5 
8 
9 
9 
6 

3 

1.7 

1 

2.3 

$6  to  $6.99  

1 

2 

5 

2 
1 
1 

2.8 

1.2 
.6 
.6 

1 
1 
1 

2 

2.3 
2.3 
2.3 

1.8 

$7  to  $7.99  

$8toS8.99  

n 

5 
6 
14 
19 
21 
12 
23 
13 
30 
10 
5 
3 

2.8 
3.3 
7.8 
10.5 
11.7 
6.6 
12.8 
7.2 
16.7 
5.5 

« 

1 

.9 

$9  to  $9  99  .    . 

1 
3 
5 
9 
15 
10 
13 
1 
3 
1 

$10toS11.99  
$12toS13.99  

10 

20 
18 
30 
18 
21 
36 
7 
4 

1 

5.8 
11.7 
10.6 
17.6 
10.6 
12.4 
21.2 
4.1 
2.4 
.6 

2 
3 
3 
4 

5 
7 
3 
7 
4 
2 

3 
5 
9 

8 
21 
23 
12 
12 
5 
5 

4.5 
6.8 
6.8 
9.1 
11.4 
15.9 
6.8 
15.9 
9.1 
4.5 

2.8 
4.7 
8.4 
7.5 
19.7 
21.5 
11.2 
11.2 
4.7 
4.7 

6 
9 
6 
7 
3 

$14  to  S15  99 

$16  to  817.99  

$18  to  SI  9.99     . 

$20  to  $22.49  

3 

$22.50  to  S24.99 

$25  to  $27  49 

$27.50  to  829.99.... 

$30  and  over 

1 

Total  

52 

*58 

37 

64 

180 

U70  j     100.0 

100.0 

44 

107 

100.0 

100.0 

Association  A  

Workers  in  specified  classes  of  shops. 

46 
5 
1 

26 
10 
20 
2 

21 
13 
3 

34 
11 
15 

4 

42 
138 

69 
101 

24 
18 

80 
9 

Association  B  
Nonassociation  A..  . 
Nonassociation  B  .  .  . 

2 

18 

i 

1  Percentages  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

2  Not  including  11  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

8  Including  11  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

SLEEVE  MAKERS. 

It  takes  about  the  same  kind  of  skill  in  making  sleeves  as  in  mak- 
ing waists.  Sleeve  makers  and  waist  or  body  makers  are  regarded 
as  operators  of  equal  skill  and  practically  equal  earning  capacity. 
It  takes  about  the  length  of  a  season  to  train  a  sleeve  maker,  although 
he  or  she,  no  doubt,  continues  to  gain  in  skill  as  time  goes  on.  The 
chief  skill  of  the  sleeve  maker  is  in  sewing  the  lace  and  trimmings  to 
the  material  of  which  the  waist  is  made.  Experienced  sleeve  makers 
sometimes  graduate  into  waist  makers  and  trimmers. 

SEX. 

Of  the  344  sleeve  makers  reported  for  1913,  only  44  were  men; 
300,  or  87  per  cent,  were  women. 


84  BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUEEAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 

WAGES. 

The  sleeve  makers  work  almost  equally  on  a  piece  and  a  week 
basis  (Table  11).  In  1913,  54  per  cent,  or  a  little  over  one-half  of 
all  the  sleeve  makers,  were  week  workers  and  46  per  cent  were  piece- 
workers. The  number  of  pieceworkers  increased  considerably  in 
1913,  for  in  1912  they  numbered  only  35  per  cent  of  all  the  sleeve 
makers. 

The  largest  single  group,  of  sleeve  makers  in  1913  were  the  women 
week  workers,  who  numbered  173.  Of  these,  as  will  be  seen  from 
Table  34,  nearly  one-fourth  received  $7  and  less  than  $8  a  week;  a 
little  over  28  per  cent  received  $8  and  less  than  $10  a  week;  a 
little  over  one-fifth  received  less  than  $7.  Nine  girls  received  less 
than  $6  a  week. 

In  1912  there  were  23  girls  receiving  less  than  $6  a  week.  In 
general,  there  was  a  reduction  in  the  number  of  those  receiving  less 
than  $7  a  week  and  a  slight  increase  in  the  proportion  of  those  receiv- 
ing $7  a  week  and  over. 

The  next  largest  group  were  the  women  pieceworkers,  who  num- 
bered 127  in  1913.  Of  these,  21.3  per  cent,  or  a  little  over  one-fifth, 
earned  $10  and  less  than  $12  during  the  busiest  week  in  1913;  21.9 
per  cent  earned  $8  and  less  than  $10;  and  23.6  per  cent  earned  $12 
and  less  than  $16.  The  number  of  these  receiving  $16  a  week  and 
over  constituted  12.7  per  cent;  9.5  per  cent  earned  less  than  $6.  As 
compared  with  1912,  there  was  an  increase  in  the  percentage  of  those 
earning  $12  a  week  and  over.  The  percentage  of  those  earning  $10 
and  less  than  $12  a  week  remained  the  same,  and  of  those  earning 
under  $10  a  week  declined  from  57  in  1912  to  42  in  1913. 

The  number  of  male  sleeve  makers,  both  week  workers  and  piece- 
workers, is  too  small  to  require  any  discussion  of  their  wages.  The 
figures  will  be  found  in  Table  34. 


WAGES   AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       85 


TABLE  34.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  SLEEVE  MAKERS  (WEEK  WORKERS  AND 
PIECEWORKERS)  RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  OR  EARNINGS 
PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  SEX. 


Classified   rates   of 
wages  or  earnings 
per    week,    and 
classes  of  shops. 

Week  workers  receiving  each  classified 
rate  of  wages. 

Pieceworkers     earning     each     classified 
amount  during  busiest  week  of  year. 

Females. 

Males.i 

Females. 

Males.i 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

2 

1 
1 

3.1 

0.8 
.8 

$3  tJ$3.99  

1 
8 
14 
29 
24 
17 
26 
15 
3 
4 
1 
1 

2 
3 
4 
26 
43 
25 
24 
25 
11 
5 
3 

0.7 
5.5 
9.7 
20.1 
16.7 
11.8 
18.0 
10.5 
2.1 
2.8 
.7 
.7 

1.2 
1.7 
2.3 
15,0 
24.8 
14.5 
13.9 
14.5 
6.4 
2.9 
1.7 

1 

1 

$4  to  $4.99     .  . 

2 
7 
1 
3 
9 
13 
14 
6 
2 
4 
1 
1 

3 

7 
7 
7 
13 
15 
27 
15 
15 
8 
6 
1 

3.1 
10.8 
1.6 
4.6 
13.8 
20.0 
21.5 
9.2 
3.1 
6.2 
1.5 
1.5 

2.4 
5.5 
5.5 
5.5 
10.1 
11.8 
21.3 
11.8 
11.8 
6.3 
4.5 
.  5 

$5  to  $5  99 

|6  to  $6.99  

2 

$7  t  >  $7  99 

2 
1 
1 

$8  to  §8.99  

2 
1 
4 
2 
1 
3 
1 
4 

1 
.... 

5 
5 
3 
6 
4 

$9  to  S3  99 

$10  to  $11  99 

2 
4 
2 
2 

$12  to  $13.99. 

3 
3 
1 

$14  to  $15  99 

$16  to  $17.99  

$18  to  819  99 

$20  to  $22  49 

1 

.6 

$22.50  to  $24.99 

1 

.7 

$25  to  $27  49 

$27  50  to  829  99 

1 

3 

2 

$30  and  over 

1 

.6 

Total  

144 

173 

100.0 

100.0 

11 

12 

65 

127 

100.0 

100.0 

18 

32 

Association  A  
Association  B  
Nonassociation  A... 
Nonassociation  B... 

Workers  in  specified  classes  of  shops. 

96 
14 
31 
3 

93 
14 
61 
5 

8 
1 
2 

10 

1 
1 

35 
15 
4 
11 

79 
19 
18 
11 

12 
4 

20 
3 

9 

... 

2 

1  Percentages  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 
SLEEVE  SETTERS. 

The  work  of  the  sleeve  setter  consists  in  sewing  the  sleeves  to  the 
waists.  There  are  two  ways  of  doing  this  work.  In  the  waists 
which  were  in  style  prior  to  1913,  the  sleeves  were  closed  by 
the  sleeve  maker  and  set  into  the  armhole  of  the  waist  by  the  sleeve 
setter.  The  setting  of  the  closed  sleeve  requires  great  skill.  As  a 
rule,  the  sleeve  is  larger  than  the  armhole  and  while  it  is  being  set 
into  the  waist  it  has  to  be  gathered  into  folds,  the  sleeve  setter 
knowing  practically  by  instinct  just  how  much  to  gather  in  so  that 
the  sleeve  will  fit  perfectly  into  the  armhole  and  will  "hang  right" 
from  the  body  of  the  waist.  The  work  is  usually  done  on  a  Union 
Special  machine,  which  with  a  knife  attachment  trims  off  the  raw  edges 
on  the  wrong  side  as  fast  as  the  sleeve  is  sewed  on  to  the  waist  and 
then  fells  the  seam.  It  is  also  done  on  a  Metropolitan  machine 
which  automatically  binds  the  seam  on  the  wrong  side  instead  of 
felling  it. 


86  BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF  LABOR  STATISTICS. 

In  the  style  that  has  been  in  vogue  since  1913  the  sleeves  are  not 
closed  before  being  attached  to  the  waist,  being  sewed  on  to  the  body 
of  the  waist  before  being  closed.  The  closer  then  closes  the  sleeves 
and  the  sides  of  the  waist  in  one  operation.  The  change  hi  style  left 
the  sleeve  setters  with  but  little  sleeve  setting  to  do  and  they  have 
been  employed  mostly  on  other  work  requiring  the  use  of  the 
Union  Special  machine. 

SEX. 

Of  the  139  sleeve  setters  reported  in  1913,  86,  or  62  per  cent,  were 
women  and  53  were  men. 

WAGES. 

Of  all  the  sleeve  setters  reported,  59  per  cent  were  week  workers 
and  41  per  cent  were  pieceworkers.  The  proportion  of  pieceworkers 
has  increased  considerably,  having  constituted  only  30  per  cent  during 
the  preceding  year.  Taking  the  sleeve  setters  as  reported  for  the 
entire  industry  for  1913,  there  were  57  women  working  by  the  week, 
29  women  working  by  the  piece,  25  men  working  by  the  week,  and 
28  men  working  by  the  piece.  These  numbers  are  too  small  to 
justify  any  detailed  conclusions  as  to  the  trend  of  wages. 

It  is  interesting  to  note,  however,  that  of  the  57  women  week 
workers,  40,  or  more  than  two-thirds  of  them,  received  $10  and  less 
than  $16  a  week.  None  received  less  than  $7  a  week,  while  during 
the  preceding  year  there  were  4  girls  receiving  less  than  that  amount. 
There  was  a  decided  reduction  in  the  number  of  those  receiving  less 
than  $10  a  week  and  an  increase  from  the  preceding  year  in  the 
number  of  those  receiving  the  higher  rates  of  wages. 

Among  the  men  sleeve  setters,  week  workers,  the  lowest  wage  group 
reported  in  1913  was  $12  to  $13.99  a  week  and  the  highest  $27.50  to 
$29.99  a  week,  the  men  as  a  rule  receiving  higher  wages  than  the 
women.  This  is  ven  more  noticeable  of  the  pieceworkers,  where 
the  men  earned  considerably  in  excess  of  the  women.  Further  de- 
tails as  to  the  wages  of  sleeve  setters  will  be  found  in  Table  35. 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       87 


TABLE  35.-NUMBER  OF  SLEEVE  SETTERS  (WEEK  WORKERS  AND  PIECEWORKERS) 
RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  OR  EARNINGS  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND 
1913,  BY  SEX. 


Classified  rates  of  wages  or  earnings 
per  week,  and  classes  of  shops. 

Week  workers  receiving  each 
classified  rate  of  wages. 

Pieceworkers  earning  each  classi- 
fied   amount   during    busiest 
week  of  year. 

Females. 

Males. 

Females. 

Males. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3  

1 

$3  to  $3.99  

|4  to  $4  99 

1 
1 
2 
5 
2 
14 
8 
18 
4 

1 

$5  to  $5.99  

16  to  86.99  

2 
1 

$7  to  §7.99  

1 
5 
8 
13 
11 
16 
2 

1 

1 
1 
1 



1 

f8  to  $8.99          

1 

$  9  to  $9  99 



3 
2 
2 

3 
5 
3 
5 
3 
3 

$10  to  $11.99  

3 
..... 

3 
2 
2 
4 
3 

5 
1 
1 
3 
1 
4 
8 
2 
2 
1 

$12  to  $13  99 

5 

S 
7 
3 
1 

$14  to  $15.99  

7 
3 
1 

$16  to  $17.99            

2 
1 

$18  to  $19  99 

$20  to  $22.49  

1 

$22  50  to  $24  99 

1 
1 

$25  to  $27.49  

1 

..... 

$27.50  to  $29.99       ... 

$30  and  over 

1 

Total 

55 

57 

16 

25 

11 

29 

20 

28 

Association  A 

Workers  in  specified  classes  of  shops. 

30 

1 

12 

24 
12 
18 
3 

11 

16 
6 
3 

7 
2 
2 

23 
2 
4 

11 

13 
1 
14 

Association  B  

Nonassociation  A 

9 

Nonassociation  B 

TRIMMERS. 

Trimmers  form  the  group  of  operators  of  the  highest  skill.  Their 
work  consists  in  sewing  on  the  trimmings,  laces,  embroideries,  silks, 
etc.  It  requires  delicate  touch,  patience,  and  skill  in  handling  delicate 
materials,  such  as  laces,  embroideries,  chiffons,  and  nets.  Girls  are 
promoted  to  be  trimmers  after  they  have  proved  to  be  good  waist  or 
dress  makers.  It  takes  about  the  length  of  a  season  to  learn  trimming, 
but  the  trimmer  gains  in  skill  as  she  goes  on  working  from  season  to 
season. 

SEX. 

The  nature  of  a  trimmer's  work  is  such  as  to  give  women  a  decided 
advantage  over  men.  Of  the  634  trimmers  reported  for  1913,  612, 
or  96.5  per  cent,  were  women  and  only  22,  or  3.5  per  cent,  were  men. 

WAGES. 

Wages  of  week  workers. — The  great  majority  of  the  female  trimmers 
were  found  employed  in  association  shops,  only  37.  being  reported  in 
the  nonassociation  shops,  as  will  be  seen  from  Table  36.  Of  the  333 
women  week  workers  the  largest  single  group  were  those  receiving  $12 


88 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOE   STATISTICS. 


and  less  than  $14  a  week,  these  constituting  about  one-third  of  the  entire 
number;  the  next  largest  single  group  were  those  receiving  $10  and 
less  than  $12  who  constituted  a  little  less  than  29  per  cent  of  the 
total,  these  two  groups  making  up  more  than  one-half  of  all  the 
women  trimmers  working  by  the  week.  A  little  over  14  per  cent  of 
the  women  received  $14  a  week  and  over  and  nearly  one-fifth  re- 
ceived under  $9  a  week.  Three  girls  received  under  $6  a  week. 

Earnings  of  pieceworkers. — Of  the  279  women  pieceworkers,  over  19 
per  cent,  or  nearly -one-fifth,  earned  $14  and  less  than  $16  during  the 
busiest  week  of  1913.  Nearly  34  per  cent,  or  a  little  over  one- third, 
earned  $10  and  less  than  $14  a  week;  over  16  per  cent  earned  under 
$10  a  week;  a  little  less  than  9  per  cent,  or  nearly  one-tenth,  earned 
$18  and  less  than  $20  a  week,  and  the  remaining  8.5  per  cent  earned 
$20  a  week  and  over. 

Comparison  of  wages  in  1912  and  1918. — The  wages  of  ah1  classes 
of  trimmers  show  a  marked  improvement  since  the  protocol  went  into 
effect.  In  the  case  of  the  women  trimmers  working  by  the  week, 
there  is  a  general  increase  in  the  proportion  of  workers  receiving  $12 
a  week  and  over,  who  constituted  30  per  cent  of  all  the  women  week 
workers  in  1912  and  nearly  47  per  cent  in  1913,  with  a  corresponding 
decline  in  the  relative  number  of  women  week  workers  receiving  less 
than  $12  a  week.  In  the  case  of  women  pieceworkers,  a  similar 
change  has  occurred,  except  that  the  increase  begins  not  with  the  $12 
but  with  the  $14  a  week  workers.  The  proportion  of  those  earning 
$14  a  week  and  over  was  less  than  19  per  cent  in  1912  and  nearly  50 
per  cent  in  1913,  with  a  corresponding  decline  in  the  number  of  those 
earning  under  $14  a  week. 

TABLE  36.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  TRIMMERS,  FEMALE,!  WEEK  WORKERS, 
RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS 
OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  ra'es  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

$1  to  $4.99... 

3 
9 
7 
8 
11 
17 
43 
.23 
4 

1 
4 
4 

8 
14 

4 
13 
11 
16 
25 
18 
102 
59 
15 
6 
3 

$5  to  $5.99  

2 
3 
9 
11 
13 
43 
44 
14 
3 

1 
5 
8 
23 
1 
43 
49 
17 
2 
3 
1 

3 
8 
19 
35 
17 
95 
109 
36 
5 
4 
2 

$6  to  $6.99  

$7  to  $7  .99... 

2 

1 
3 
9 
16 
5 

$8  to  $8.99  

$9  to  $9.99  

1 

5 
7 
5 

$10  to  $11.99... 

54 
29 
6 
•       6 
2 

$12  to  $13.99... 

$14to  $15.99  

$16  to  $17.99  

$18  to  $19.99.... 

1 

1 

$20  to  $22.49  

1 

Total  

126 

143 

18 

37 

128 

153 

2272 

3333 

1 

i  There  were  8  trimmers,  male,  week  workers,  in  1912,  and  9  in  1913. 

*  Not  including  14,  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

»  Not  including  10,  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN  DRESS  AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       89 


TABLE  36.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  TRIMMERS,  FEMALE,  WEEK  WORKERS, 
RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS 
OF  SHOPS— Concluded. 

PER  CENT. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A.i 

Association  B 

Nonassociation 
B.i 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912    |    1913 

$4  to  S4  99 

2.4 

0.8 
3.1 
3.1 
6.3 
10.9 

1  4 

$5  to  85.99  

7.1 
5.6 
6.3 
8.7 
13.5 
34.1 
18.3 
3.2 

1.4 
2.1 
6.3 
7.6 
9.1 
30.1 
30.8 
9.8 
2.1 

0.7 
3.3 
5.2 
15.0 

.7 

4.8 
4.0 
5.9 
9.2 
6.6 
37.6 
21.7 
5.5 
2.2 
1.1 

0.9 
2.4 
5.7 
10.5 
5.1 
28.6 
32.7 
10.8 
1.5 
1.2 
.6 

$6  to  S6.99    

$7  to  $7  99 

^8  to  $8.99  

$9  to  $9.99 

$10  to  $11.99  
$12  to  $13.99  

42.2 
22.6 
4.7 
4.7 
1.6 

28.1 
32.0 
11.1 
1.3 
1.9 
.7 

$14  to  $15.99 

$16  to  SI  7  99 

$18  to  $19  99 

g 

$20  to  $22  49 

.7 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

TABLE  37.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  TRIMMERS,  FEMALE,*  PIECEWORKERS,  EARN- 
ING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT,  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR,  1912 
AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  earnings 
per  week. 

Association 

Nonassociation 
A.i 

Association 
B. 

Nonassociation 
B.i 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

3 

o 

7 
1 
6 
10 
12 
8 
18 
23 
11 
4 
1 

1 

4 
3 
3 
3 
9 
8 
11 
22 
38 
27 
10 
7 
6 
6 
4 
1 
1 
1 

2 

7 
5 
10 
4 
15 
18 
23 
31 
58 
51 
21 
11 
7 
6 
4 
1 
1 
1 

3 

""3 
3 
6 
6 
10 
15 
48 
46 
54 
37 
24 
11 
9 
2 
2 

$3  to  $3  99 

$4  to  $4  99 

1 
1 
3 
3 
6 
9 
24 
23 
26 
13 
6 
2 
2 

2 
2 
3 
3 

4 
6 
21 
21 
27 
24 
18 
9 
7 
2 
1 

$5  to  $5.99 

$6  to  $6  99 

$7  to  §7.99 

$8  to  88  99 

1 

$9  to  89  99 

1 
1 
4 

$10  to  Sll  99 

1 

3 
2 

$12  to  $13  99 

$14  to  $15  99 

1 

$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19  99 

$20  to  $22  49 

$22  £0  to  $24  99 

$25  to  $27  49 

$27  50  to  $29  99 

1 

$30  and  over  

Total 

106 

121 

1 

1 

164 

152 

3 

5 

3274 

<279 

PER  CENT. 


Under  $3 

2  9 

0  8 

2.4 

1.3 

2.6 

1.0 

$3  to  $3  99 

1  9 

1.8 

1.8 

$4  to  $4  99 

6  6 

g 

1.8 

1.3 

3.6 

1.0 

$5  to  $5  99 

1  0 

.8 

1.8 

1.3 

1.5 

1.0 

$6  to  $6  99 

5  7 

2  5 

5.5 

2.0 

5.5 

2.2 

$7  to  ^7  99 

9  4 

2  5 

4.9 

2.0 

6.6 

2.2 

$8  to  $8  99 

11  3 

5  0 

6.7 

2.6 

8.4 

3.6 

$9  to  $9  99 

7  5 

7  4 

13.4 

3.9 

11.3 

5.4 

$10  to  $11  99 

17  0 

19  8 

23.2 

13.8 

21.2 

17.3 

$12  to  $13  99 

21  7 

19  0 

16.5 

13.8 

18.6 

16.5 

$14  to  $15  99 

10  3 

21  5 

6.1 

17.8 

7.7 

19.4 

$16  to  $17  99 

3  7 

10  7 

4.3 

15.8 

4.0 

13.3 

$18  to  $19  99 

1  0 

5  0 

3.7 

11.8 

2.6 

8.6 

$20  to  $22.49  
$29  50  to  $24  99 

1.7 

1  7 





3.7 

2.4 

5.9 

4.6 



2.2 
1.5 

3.9 
3.2 

$25  to  $27  49 

.6 

1.3 

.3 

.7 

$27  50  to  $29  99 

3 

.6 

.7 

.3 

.7 

$30  and  over  

.6 

.3 

Total 

100  0 

100  0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

1  Percentages  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

*  There  were  4  trimmers,  male.  pieceworkers,  in  1912  and  13  in  1913. 

3  Including  14  week  workers,  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

*  Including  10  week  workers,  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 


90  BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 

TUCKERS. 

Tucking  consists  of  folding  certain  parts  of  the  waist  or  cloth  into 
plaits  or  tucks  which  are  stitched  down  on  the  machine.  Much  of 
the  tucking  is  so-called  strip  tucking  consisting  of  the  making  of 
tucks  on  long  strips  of  material  which  run  sometimes  into  the  hun- 
dreds of  yards.  The  width  of  the  tuck  is  regulated  by  the  so-called 
knife,  which  is  an  attachment  put  on  the  machine  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  skill  of  the  operator  is  in  getting  the  cloth  under  the  knife, 
guiding  the  cloth  under  the  needle  of  the  machine,  in  regulating  the 
spaces  between  the  rows  of  stitching,  and  in  knowing  how  to  handle 
the  machine.  More  skill  is  required  in  "short  tucking,"  which  con- 
sists in  making  tucks  of  various  lengths  and  widths  on  the  body  of  the 
waist.  This  requires  frequent  starting  and  stopping  of  the  machine 
and  getting  the  waist  under  the  machine,  which  can  be  easily  dam- 
aged by  an  unskillful  operator.  Some  of  the  tucking  is  done  free  hand 
without  any  knife  to  regulate  the  width  of  the  tuck.  This  is  especially 
the  case  with  tucks  on  skirts  which  are  made  to  taper  from  a  con- 
siderable width  at  the  waist  line  down  to  a  point  at  the  end  of  the 
tuck.  Tucking  of  this  kind  requires  the  highest  skill.  There  are  a 
number  of  shops  which  do  nothing  but  make  tucking  for  other  manu- 
facturers, for  the  reason  that  in  shops  of  moderate  size  there  is  not 
enough  tucking  to  do  to  keep  one  or  more  tuckers  busy  continuously. 
This  was  especially  the  case  in  1913,  when  tucking  was  not  much  in 
demand  on  account  of  changes  in  style  and  when  tuckers  were  unem- 
ployed much  of  the  time. 


SEX. 


Men  formed  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  tuckers  in  1913.  Out 
of  875  tuckers,  248,  or  more  than  one-fourth,  were  men,  and  627  were 
women. 

WAGES. 

About  half  of  the  tucking  is  done  at  piece  rates ;  but  contrary  to  the 
tendency  observed  in  most  of  the  other  operating  work,  the  propor- 
tion of  pieceworkers  has  declined  since  the  protocol  went  into  effect. 
Thus,  in  1913,  46  per  cent,  or  less  than  one-half  of  all  the  tuckers, 
worked  by  the  piece;  while  in  1912  the  proportion  of  pieceworkers 
among  tuckers  was  54  per  cent,  or  more  than  one-half. 

Wages  of  week  workers,  women. — Among  the  women  working  by 
the  week,  the  largest  group,  which  numbered  125  women  and  con- 
stituted nearly  35  per  cent  of  the  total,  received  $12  and  less  than 
$14  a  week;  a  little  over  one-fifth  of  the  women  received  $14  and  less 
than  $16,  and  a  little  over  one-fifth  received  $10  and  less  than  $12, 
these  three  groups  of  women— that  is,  those  receiving  $10  and  less 
than  $16  a  week — constituting  75.5  per  cent  or  more  than  three- 
fourths  of  all  the  women.  Less  than  one-fifth  or  nearly  19  per  cent 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT   IN   DEESS  AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY.       91 

received  under  $10  a  week  and  three  girls  received  under  $6  a  week; 
nearly  6  per  cent  received  $16  a  week  and  over. 

Wages  of  week  workers,  men. — The  largest  single  group  among  the 
109  men  week  workers  were  those  receiving  $14  and  less  than  $16  a 
week,  constituting  over  42  per  cent  of  the  total;  nearly  14  per  cent 
received  $16  and  less  than  $18;  over  10  per  cent  received  $18  and 
less  than  $20  and  less  than  5  per  cent  received  $20  a  week  and  over. 
Only  one  boy  tucker  received  under  $6  a  week  and  three  received  $6 
a  week.  It  will  be  seen  from  these  figures  that  the  men  received, 
on  the  whole,  higher  wages  than  the  women.  Thus,  there  were  no 
women  receiving  $20  a  week,  while  nearly  5  per  cent  of  the  men  re- 
ceived $20  a  week  and  over.  While  the  number  of  women  receiving 
$14  a  week  and  over  constituted  only  one-fourth  of  the  total,  the 
number  of  men  receiving  these  wages  constituted  nearly  three-fourths. 

Earnings  of  pieceworkers. — Sixty-one  of  the  267  women  pieceworkers 
constituting  23  per  cent,  or  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  total,  earned  $18 
a  week  and  over  during  the  busiest  week  of  1913;  nearly  34  per  cent 
or  more  than  one-third  earned  $14  and  less  than  $18  a  week;  over 
14  per  cent  earned  from  $12  to  $13.99  a  week;  over  11  per  cent 
earned  $10  and  less  than  $12  a  week,  and  over  18  per  cent,  or  less 
than  one-fifth,  earned  under  $10  a  week.  As  is  usually  the  case, 
men  earned  much  higher  wages  than  the  women.  Over  one-fourth 
of  the  pieceworkers,  male,  earned  $22.50  a  week  and  over  during 
the  busiest  week  of  the  year;  over  one-fifth  earned  from  $18  to 
$22.49;  over  30  per  cent,  or  a  little  less  than  one-third,  earned  $14 
and  less  than  $18;  more  than  24  per  cent,  or  nearly  one-fourth,  earned 
under  $14  a  week.  Of  the  men,  less  than  4  per  cent  earned  under  $6 
a  week. 

Comparison  of  wages  in  1912  and  1913. — There  was  a  noticeable 
increase  in  the  earnings  of  the  tuckers,  both  week  and  pieceworkers, 
from  1912  to  1913.  An  examination  of  Tables  38,  39,  and  40  will 
show  that  among  the  women  week  workers,  those  receiving  $12  a 
week  and  over  constituted  a  larger  proportion  in  1913  as  compared 
with  1912,  while  those  receiving  under  $12  a  week  were  reduced  in 
numbers.  The  same  is  true  of  the  men  week  workers  except  that  the 
line  is  to  be  drawn  at  $14  a  week  instead  of  $12  as  in  the  case  of  the 
women.  Among  the  pieceworkers  this  is  likewise  true.  Thus, 
the  number  of  women  pieceworkers  earning  $14  a  week  and  over  has 
increased  from  21.9  per  cent  in  1912  to  56.5  per  cent  in  1913.  Among 
the  men,  the  number  of  those  earning  $14  a  week  and  over  during 
the  busiest  week  of  the  year  increased  from  52.8  per  cent  in  1912 
to  75.6  per  cent  in  1913. 

No  great  differences  appear  in  the  wages  paid  to  tuckers  in  the 
different  branches  of  the  industry.     The  details  as  to  the  wages  paid 
in  association  and  nonassociation  shops  will  be  found  in  Tables  38,  39,^ 
and  40. 


92 


BULLETIN   OF    THE   BUKEAU   OF   LABOK   STATISTICS. 


TABCE38.— NUMBER  AND  PERCENT  OF  TUCKERS,  FEMALE,  WEEK  WORKERS,  RECEIV- 
ING EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES    PER  WEEK,  1912  AND    1913,  BY  CLASS  OF 

SHOPS-  NUMBER. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  wee.t. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 
B.i 

Total. 

1912 

1 
2 

2 
4 
7 
9 
21 
24 
9 
2 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

$3  to  83.99  

$4  to  $4  99 

2 
1 
1 

4 
5 
7 
12 
11 
7 
3 

1 

3 
3 

4 
7 
10 
17 
20 
59 
59 
3G 
4 
1 

1 
1 
3 
23 
13 
25 
74 
125 
73 
18 
3 

$5  to  $">  99 

2 
1 

1 
3 
5 
27 
25 
23 
2 
1 

$6  to  $•">  99 

3 
6 
3 
8 
30 
43 
23 
6 
2 

$7  to  $7  99 

15 

6 
13 
28 
41 
15 
5 

2 
4 
3 
12 
27 
30 
3 
1 

$8  to  $8  99 

$9  to  $9  99 

1 
4 
14 
2 

4 

$10  to  $11.99 

$12  to  $13.99  

2 
1 

$14  to  $15.99 

$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19  99 

$°0  to  $22  49 

Total     .   . 

82 

127 

53 

120 

90 

82 

3 

25 

229 

360 

PER  CENT. 


$3  to  $3  99 

1.2 

3.8 

08 

1  3 

0  3 

$4  to  $4  99 

2  4 

1  9 

.8 

1  3 

3 

$5  to  $")  99 

1.2 

1.9 

.8 

2.2 

1.7 

3 

$6  to  $f>  99 

2.4 

2.4 

7.5 

1.1 

3  0 

9 

$7  to  $7  99 

4.9 

4.7 

9.4 

11.9 

1.1 

2.4 

4.4 

6  4 

$8  to  $8  99 

8.6 

2.4 

13.2 

4.8 

3.3 

4.9 

7  4 

3  6 

$9  to  $9  99 

11  0 

6  3 

22  6 

10  3 

5.6 

3.7 

11  3 

6  9 

$10to$U.99  
$12  to  $13  99 

25.6 
29  3 

23.6 
33.8 

20.8 
13  2 

22.2 
32  5 

30.0 
27.8 

14.6 
32.9 

25.  9 
25  9 

20.5 
34  7 

$14  to  §15  99 

11.0 

20.5 

5.7 

11.9 

25.6 

36.6 

15.7 

20  3 

$16  to  $17  90 

2.4 

4.7 

4.0 

2.2 

3.7 

1.7 

4  9 

$18  to  $19  99 

1  6 

1  i 

1  2 

4 

9 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

i  Percentages  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

TABLE  39.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  TUCKERS,  FEMALE,  PIECEWORKERS,  EARN- 
ING EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT,  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR,  1912 
AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  earnings 
per  week. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassociation 
A.i 

Association 
B. 

Nonassociation 
B.i 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

o 

1 
1 

3 

2 

(1 

•   5 
9 
5 
5 
8 
18 
28 
30 
54 
62 
27 
14 
12 
8 
1 
1 

4 
2 
2 
5 
4 
7 
12 
12 
33 
38 
45 
•T) 
31 
13 
8 
2 
3 
1 

$3  to  $3.59... 

2 
4 
1 
2 
6 
9 
12 
14 
24 
8 
5 
5 
2 

1 
1 
3 
2 
2 
9 
4 
It 
10 
19 
17 
8 
3 

$tto$4.99  

1 
3 
.4 

7 
10 
10 
29 
33 
13 
7 
6 
5 
1 

2 
4 
7 
12 

20 
21 

is 

10 
8 

1 

2 

$=>to$5.99  

1 
2 
5 
8 
7 
11 
5 
1 
2 

1 
1 

$6  to  $6.99  

$7  to  $7.99.... 

..... 
1 

1 

$8  to  $8.99  

1 

4 
9 
16 

6 
6 

7 

$0  to  $9.99.   . 

$10  to  $11.99.... 

$12  to  $13.99.... 
$14to$15.€9  

$16to$17.99  

1 
3 

$18  to  $19.99.... 

1 
1 

$20  to  $22.49.  .  . 

$22.50  to  $24.99... 

$25  to  $27.49  

1 

1 

..... 

$27.50  to  $29.99  

$30  and  over  

Total  

90 

94 

44 

54 

142 

113 

5 

6 

287 

267 

*  Percentages  not  computed  oa  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN  DRESS  AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY.       93 


TABLE  39.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  TUCKERS,  FEMALE,  PIECEWORKERS,  EARN- 
ING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT,  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR, 
1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS— Concluded. 

PER  CENT. 


Classified  earnings 
per  week. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association 
B. 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3  . 

2.1 
2.1 
4.1 
1.0 
2.1 
6.3 
9.4 
12.5 
14.6 
25.0 
8.3 
5.2 
5.2 
2.1 

1.4 
4.2 

.7 

0.9 
.9 
.9 

1.7 
3.1 
1.7 
1.7 

2.8 
6.3 
9.8 
10.4 
18.8 
21.6 
9.4 
4.9 
4.2 
2.8 
.3 
.3 

1.5 
.8 
.8 
1.9 
1.5 
2.6 
4.5 
4.5 
11.2 
14.2 
16.8 
16.8 
12.7 
4.9 
3.0 
.8 
1.1 
.4 

$3  to  $3  99 

1.1 
1.1 
3.2 
2.1 
2.1 
9.6 
4.2 
14.9 
10.6 
20.2 
18.1 
8.5 
3.2 

$4  to  $4.  09  

$5  to  $5  99 

2.1 
2.8 
4.9 
7.1 

.9 
.9 
3.5 

$6  to  $6  99 

$7  to  $7.99  

$8  to  $S  99 

1.8 

$9  to  $9.99  

7.1 
20.4 
23.3 
12.7 
4.9 
4.2 
3.5 
.7 

3.5 
6.2 
10.6 
17.7 
18.6 
14.1 
8.8 
7.1 
.9 

$10  to  $11.99. 

$12  to  $13  99 

$14  to  $15.99  

$16  to  $17.99. 

$18  to  $19.99 

$20  to  §22.49. 

$22  50  to  $24.99 

$2")  1  o  §27  49 

1.1 

$27.50  to  $29.99  

1.8 

$30  and  over 

.9 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

TABLE  40 NUMBER  AND   PER    CENT  OF   TUCKERS,   MALE   (WEEK   WORKERS  AND 

PIECEWORKERS),  RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  OR  EARNINGS 
PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  FOR  THE  INDUSTRY  AS  A  WHOLE. 


Classified  rates  of  wages  or  earnings 
per  week. 

Week  workers  (male)  receiving 
each  classified  rate  of  wages. 

Pieceworkers    (male)    receiving 
each  classified  amount  during 
busiest  week  of  year. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3... 

2 
1 
1 

2.8 

$3  to  $3.99.  .  .  . 

3 

2 

1.4 
1.4 

2.2 
1.4 

$4  to  $4.99 

1 

1.2 

$5  t3  $5  99 

1 
3 

1.0 

2.7 

$6  to  $6.99... 

2 
1 
3 
5 
17 
30 
12 
5 
4 
2 
1 

2.4 
1.2 

2 
2 
3 
6 
6 
10 
20 
22 
16 
12 
12 
12 
3 
8 

1.4 
1.4 
2.2 
4.3 
4.3 
7.2 
14.4 
15.9 
11.5 
8.6 
8.6 
8.6 
2.2 
5.8 

$7  to  $7.99 

1 

1 
7 
11 
10 

7 
7 
6 
4 
4 
4 
1 
5 

1.4 

1.4 
9.7 
15.2 
13.9 
9.7 
9.7 
8.3 
5.6 
5.6 
5.6 
1.4 
6.9 

$8  to  $8  99 

2 
1 
8 
17 
46 
15 
11 
4 

3.6 
6.0 
20.5 
36.2 
14.5 
6.0 
4.8 
2.4 
1.2 

1.8 
1.0 
7.3 
15.6 
42.2 
13.7 
10.1 
3.6 

$9  to  $9.  99  

$10  to  $11.99                                        ..   . 

$12  to  $13.99 

$14  to  $15  99 

$16  tD  $17.99  

$18  to  $19.99              .            

$20  to  $22.49... 

$22  50  to  $24  99 

$25  to  $27.49 

1 

1.0 

$27.50  to  $29  99 

$30  and  over 

Total  

83 

109 

100.0 

100.0 

72 

139 

100.0 

100.0 

WAIST  OPERATORS. 

By  "waist  operators"  are  generally  meant  operators  who  make  a 
complete  waist.  The  work  consists  of  the  following  processes:  1, 
The  preparation  of  the  so-called  trimmings,  which  includes  the  making 
of  the  collars,  the  sewing  on  of  laces  or  embroideries  on  the  fronts, 


94  BULLETIN   OF  THE  BUREAU   OF  LABOR  STATISTICS. 

the  sewing  on  of  the  trimmings  on  the  sleeves,  etc.;  2,  the  joining  of 
the  shoulders,  that  is,  sewing  together  the  front  and  back  parts  of  the 
waists  along  the  shoulder  lines;  3,  "collar  setting,"  that  is,  sewing 
the  collar  on  to  the  waist;  4,  "making  facings,"  that  is,  preparing  the 
buttonhole  and  button  pieces  which  are  narrow  strips  of  folded 
cloth,  on  one  of  which  the  buttons  are  sewed  and  on  the  other  the 
buttonholes  are  made;  5,  "closing  sides, "  that  is,  joining  the  front 
and  back  parts  of  the  waist  along  the  sides;  6,  "shirring"  or  " tack- 
ing" the  fronts  and  backs,  that  is,  gathering  the  front  and  back  parts 
of  the  waist  hi  to  folds  and  stitching  these  down  along  the  waist  line; 
7,  "setting  little  skirts,"  that  is,  sewing  on  at  the  waist  line  the 
bottom  part  of  the  waist;  8,  "hemming,"  that  is,  hemming  the  lower 
edge  of  the  waist;  9,  "setting  sleeves,"  that  is,  sewing  the  sleeves  to 
the  waist. 

As  a  rule,  however,  the  work  of  making  the  waist  is  divided  between 
the  "body  maker"  and  those  who  specialize  in  making  certain  parts, 
such  as  sleeve  setters,  buttonhole  makers,  etc.  The  body  maker  is 
practically  a  waist  operator,  relieved  of  certain  of  the  processes  in 
the  making  of  the  waist.  Where  body  makers  are  employed  they 
may  do  the  trimming  or  the  work  may  be  done  by  "trimmers."  The 
same  is  true  of  setting  the  collars.  The  work  of  the  "body  makers" 
proper  is  confined  to  joining  the  shoulders,  setting  the  collar,  closing 
the  sleeves  and  sides,  making  the  facings,  shirring  or  tacking  the  front 
and  back,  and  setting  the  little  skirt  to  the  waist.  Occasionally, 
also,  they  may  make  some  of  the  tucks  on  the  waist.  The  change  in 
fashion  in  1913,  which  did  away  with  the  seamed  shoulders  and 
substituted  kimono  sleeves  for  the  old  style  and  did  away  with  lace 
trimming  in  most  cases,  resulted  in  the  body  makers'  making  prac- 
tically the  whole  waist. 

In  Tables  41,  42,  43,  and  44,  which  give  the  wages  of  waist  opera- 
tors, it  was  found  necessary  to  include  not  only  the  body  makers  and 
waist  operators  as  just  defined,  but  also  a  number  of  other  operators, 
in  view  of  the  indiscriminate  manner  in  which  operators  are  described 
on  the  pay  rolls  of  the  different  shops.  The  following  were  included 
among  "waist  operators"  in  classifying  the  different  classes  of 
operators:  First,  all  operators  described  as  "waist  operators"  or 
"body  makers"  on  the  pay  rolls;  second,  persons  described  as  opera- 
tors on  the  pay  rolls  of  shops  manufacturing  waists  exclusively. 
These  may  include  buttonhole  makers,  hemstitchers,  tuckers,  or  any 
other  branch  of  operators,  as  well  as  waist  makers  strictly  speaking,  so 
long  as  they  were  found  working  in  shops  manufacturing  waists 
exclusively  and  were  not  described  more  definitely  under  any  one  of 
the  occupations  mentioned  in  Table  7. 

SEX. 

The  great  majority  of  waist  operators  are  women.  Of  the  5,825 
waist  operators  reported  in  Table  9,  5,061,  or  87  per  cent,  were  women, 
and  only  764,  or  13  per  cent,  of  the  total  were  men. 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       95 


WAGES. 


As  is  shown  in  Table  11,  the  proportion  of  week  workers  and  piece- 
workers among  waist  operators  was  practically  the  same  in  1912 
and  1913.  The  pieceworkers  are  slightly  in  excess  of  the  week  work- 
ers, the  former  constituting  in  1913  51.6  per  cent  of  the  total  and 
the  latter  48.4  per  cent,  as  shown  in  the  following  table,  which  also 
gives  corresponding  figures  for  each  branch  of  the  industry. 


Number. 

Per  cent. 

Week 
workers. 

Piece- 
workers. 

Week 
workers. 

Piece- 
workers. 

Association  A                            .   . 

1,729 
357 
646 
17 

1,398 
1,187 
387 
104 

55.3 
23.1 
62.5 
14.0 

44.7 
76.9 
37.5 
86.0 

Association  B 

Nonassociation  A  

Nonassociation  B                                                                      * 

Total              

12,820 

13,005 

48.4 

51.6 

1  The  figures  for  association  and  nonassociation  shops  shown  in  this  table  are  derived  from  Tables  41  to 
44,  which  give  the  number  of  waist  operators  according  to  classified  earnings  or  wage  rates.  In  those 
tables  71  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  were  ascertained  were  included  among 
pieceworkers.  This  accounts  for  the  discrepancy  between  this  total  and  the  sum  of  the  items. 

The  following  table  shows  what  per  cent  the  week  workers  and  the 
pieceworkers  in  each  branch  were  of  all  the  waist  operators  in  the 
industry : 


Week 
workers. 

Piece- 
workers. 

Association  A           ...                                                                                            .... 

Per  cent. 
30.8 

Per  cent. 
22.9 

Association  B 

6.1 

20.4 

Nonassociation  A 

11.2 

6.5 

Nonassociation  B  

.3 

1.8 

Total 

48.4 

51.6 

Wages  of  week  workers. — If  we  draw  the  line  at  $12  a  week,  we 
shall  find  that  in  the  wage  groups  of  SI 2  and  over,  the  percentage 
of  men  waist  operators  exceeds  that  of  women;  below  the  $12  a  week 
line  the  relation  is  reversed.  Thus,  only  a  little  over  20  per  cent  of 
all  women  waist  operators,  week  workers,  received  $12  a  week  and 
over,  while  the  corresponding  group  of  men  constituted  over  59  per 
cent  of  all  the  men  week  workers.  In  other  words,  only  one-fifth  of 
the  women  week  workers  received  $12  a  week  and  over,  while  nearly 
three-fifths  of  the  men  week  workers  received  these  wages.  The 
number  of  women  week  workers  receiving  iinder  $6  a  week  in  1913 
was  9.6  per  cent  of  the  total,  while  the  number  of  men  was  3.3  per  cent. 
Those  receiving  $6  and  less  than  $9  a  week  included  nearly  39  per 
cent  of  the  women  and  only  a  little  over  19  per  cent  of  the  men; 
those  receiving  $9  and  less  than  $12  constituted  over  31  per  cent  of 
the  women  and  18.4  per  cent  of  the  men.  While  on  the  whole  there 
is  a  slight  improvement  over  1912  in  the  wages  of  waist  operators 


96 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


working  by  the  week,  the  increase  in  the  proportion  of  workers  re- 
ceiving higher  wages  with  a  corresponding  reduction  in  the  number 
ol  those  receiving  lower  rates  is  not  as  clearly  perceptible  among  the 
waist  operators  as  has  been  tne  case  in  the  other  occupations  noted 
in  this  report. 

Earnings  of  pieceworJcers. — As  is  the  case  with  the  week  workers, 
the  earnings  of  the  men  working  by  the  piece  are  greater  than  those 
of  the  women,  except  that  the  line  has  to  be  drawn  at  $18  a  week 
among  the  pieceworkers  instead  of  $12,  .as  among  the  week  workers. 
The  number  of  those  earning  $18  a  week  and  over  during  the  busiest 
week  of  1913  constituted  18  per  cent  of  all  the  women  pieceworkers 
and  nearly  49  per  cent  of  all  the  men  pieceworkers.  The  number  of 
those  earning  $16  and  less  than  $18  constituted  12.5  per  cent  of  all 
women  pieceworkers,  and  almost  the  same  percentage  of  the  men 
pieceworkers.  Below  that  wage  group  tne  proportion  of  women  ex- 
ceeds that  of  men  in  nearly  every  case. 

The  increase  over  1912  in  earnings  among  the  waist  operators 
working  by  the  piece  was  more  perceptible  than  among  those  working 
by  the  week;  it  was  also  greater  among  the  women  than  among  the 
men  pieceworkers.  Thus,  the  proportion  of  women  earning  $16  a 
week  and  over  during  the  busiest  week  of  the  year  increased  from 
less  than  18  per  cent  in  1912  to  30.5  per  cent  in  1913,  while  among 
the  men  it  increased  from  54  per  cent  in  1912  to  nearly  62  per  cent 
in  1913. 

Further  details  as  to  wages  of  waist  operators  will  be  found  in 
Tables  41,  42,  43,  and  44. 

TABLE  41.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  WAIST  OPERATORS,  FEMALE,  WEEK  WORKERS, 
RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS 
OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  rales  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 
B.i 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3... 

3 
29 
115 
148 
202 
213 
202 
181 
225 
119 
48 
3 
1 

3 
33 
140 
183 
262 
296 
278 
272 
380 
260 
101 
7 
4 

$3  to  $3.99  

6 
45 
117 
182 
255 
221 
184 
314 
145 
69 
19 
1 
2 
•1 

4 
11 
8 
41 
46 
37 
42 
80 
35 
18 
1 
1 

3 
13 
25 
55 
59 
74 
70 
127 
80 
46 
11 
3 

9 
71 
153 
277 
32S 
329 
272 
485 
286 
158 
37 
7 
4 
1 

$4  to  $4.99.. 

14 
27 
19 
33 
29 
41 
60 
92 
35 
3 
2 

13 
10 
40 
13 
30 
15 
37 
61 
43 
7 
3 
2 

$5  to  $5.  99 

1 

$6  to  $3.99  

$7  to  $7.99..  .  . 

4 
8 
8 
17 
14 

1 

4 
3 

7 

$8  to  $8.99 

$9  to  $9.99  

$10  to  $11.99  

$12  to  $13.99 

$14  to  $15.99  

$16  to  $17.99  

$18  to  $19.99. 

$20  ti  $22.49.... 

$22.50  to  $24.99  

Total  

1,489 

1,561 

324 

566 

355 

274 

51 

16 

22,219 

32,417 

1  Percentages  not  computed,  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

1  Not  including  44,  for  wLom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  cl  v*agcs  could  be  ascertained. 

«  Not  including  71,  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       97 


TABLE  41.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  WAIST  OPERATORS,  FEMALE,  WEEK  WORK- 
ERS, RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY 
CLASS  OF  SHOPS— Concluded. 

PER  CENT. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3  

0.2 
1.9 
7.7 
9.9 
13.6 
14.3 
13.6 
12.2 
15.1 
8.1 
3.2 
.2 

0.1 
1.5 
6.3 
8.3 
11.8 
13.3 
12.5 
12.3 
17.1 
11.7 
4.6 
.3 
.2 

13  to  S3.99. 

0.4 
2.9 
7.5 
11.7 
16.3 
14.1 
11.8 
20.1 
9.3 
4.4 
1.2 
.1 
.1 

1.2 
3.4 
2.5 

12.6 
14.2 
11.4 
13.0 
24.7 
10.8 
5.6 
.3 
.3 

0.5 
2.3 
4.4 
9.7 
10.4 
13.1 
12.4 
22.5 
14.2 
8.1 
1.9 
.5 

0.4 
2.9 
6.3 
11.5 
13.6 
13.6 
11.2 
20.1 
11.9 
6.5 
1.5 
.3 
.2 
C) 

14  to  SI  99 

3.9 
7.6 
5.3 
9.3 

8.2 
11.5 
16.9 
25.9 
9.9 
.9 
.6 

4.8 
3.6 
14.6 
4.8 
10.9. 
5.5 
13.5 
22.3 
15.7 
2.5 
1.1 
.7 

15  to  $5.99  

$6  to  $6.99 

$7  to  $7  99 

$8toS8.99  

|9  to  $9.99 

$10  to  $11.99  

$12  to  $13.99.     .  .   . 

$14  to  $15.99 

$16t3$17.C9  
$18  to  S19.99.   . 

$20  to  $22.49 

$22  50  to  $24  99 

.1 

Total 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

1  Less  than  one-tenth  of  1  per  cent. 

TABLE  42.— WAIST  OPERATORS,  MALE,  WEEK  WORKERS,  RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSI- 
FIED RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 


Classified  rates  of 
-  wages  per  week. 

Association 
-A. 

Nonassoci- 
ation A. 

Association 
B. 

Nonassocia- 
tion B. 

Total. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  S.7.. 

13  to  53.99 

] 

1 

2 
3 
6 
20 
23 
21 
20 
41 
54 
76 
37 
14 
15 

0.6 
.9 
1.8 
6.0 
6.9 
6.3 
6.0 
12.4 
16.4 
22.9 
11.1 
4.2 
4.5 

$4to?4.99  

7 
7 
5 
8 
11 
7 
22 
37 
38 
13 
10 
4 
1 

2 
4 
11 
17 
10 
10 
13 
22 
30 
25 
12 
11 

1 

""2 
..... 

2 
2 
3 
10 
2 

"-"§• 

1 
2 
3 
3 
7 
3 
9 
19 
16 
12 
1 
3 

8 
8 
7 
12 
18 
18 
39 
48 
79 
18 
11 
6 
1 

2.9 
2.9 
2.6 
4.4 
6.6 
6.6 
14.3 
17.6 
28.9 
6.6 
4.0 
2.2 
.4 

15  to  $5.  99 

1 

$6  to  36  99 

6 
3 
4 
7 
19 
13 
30 

$7  to  57.99  

4 
6 
8 
14 
8 
30 
3 
1 

18  to  33.99 

$9  to  ?9  99 

1 
1 

$10  to  SI  1.99 

$12  to  S13.99 

$14  to  $15  90 

1 

$16  to  £17.99 

$18  to  819.99 

1 

$20  to  «;22  49 

1 

$22  /  0  to  $24  99 

Total 

170 

168 

25 

80 

75 

83 

3 

1 

1273 

332 

100.0 

100.0 

i  Not  including  4  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

JOT  000         T>,,11      1/tfi         1/1                 T 

98 


BULLETIN   OF    THE   BUREAU   OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  43.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  WAIST  OPERATORS,  FEMALE,  PIECEWO1 
ERS,  EARNING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  Tl 
YEAR,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  earnings 
per  week. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association 
B. 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

19 
14 
32 
29 
45 
51 
56 
80 
165 
420 
107 
49 
33 
16 
10 
5 
5 

31 
22 
19 
31 
39 
42 
76 
71 
195 
190 
173 
125 
66 
37 
21 
17 
9 
4 

9 
3 
6 
11 
9 
8 
19 
13 
27 
23 
18 
10 
4 

11 
6 
5 
5 
5 
11 
13 
24 
47 
41 
40 
30 
16 
17 
5 
1 
1 
1 

31 
13 
13 
23 
38 
36 
73 
84 
113 
152 
135 
73 
69 
42 
36 
12 
10 
19 

13 
12 
15 
11 
17 
23 
47 
63 
165 
177 
127 
165 
108 
72 
39 
17 
13 
16 

1 
1 
1 
2 
1 
6 
4 
4 
11 
10 
11 
9 
6 
2 
1 
1 

1 
3 

60 
31 
52 
65 
93 
101 
152 
181 
346 
605 
271 
141 
112 
61 
47 
18 
15 
19 

56 
43 
39 
47 
64 
79 
138 
160 
428 
430 
353 
331 
198 
130 
67 
3 
2 
2 

2  2,  644 

93  to  S3.99             

$4  to  $4  99 

$5  to  $5  09 

"Y 

3 
2 
2 
21 
22 
13 
11 
8 
4 
2 
2 

$6  to  86.99      

$7  to  87  99 

|8  to  $8  99 

$9  to  ?9  99      

$10  to  $11  99 

$12  to  £13.99  

$14  to  £15.99      .  .   .. 

$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19.99    

$20  to  322  49 

$29  50  to  824  99 

$25  to  $27.49  
$27.50  to  $29.99  
$30  and  over 

Total 

1,136 

1,168 

161 

279 

1,002 

1,100 

71 

97 

12,370 

PER  CENT. 


Under  $3.  . 

1.7 

2.6 

5.6 

3.9 

3.1 

1.2 

1.4 

1.0 

2.5 

2  1 

$3  to  *3.99 

1.3 

1.9 

1.9 

2.1 

1.3 

1.1 

1.4 

3.1 

1  3 

1  b 

$4  to  $4.99  

2.8 

1.6 

3.7 

1.8 

1.3 

1.4 

1.4 

2.2 

1    0 

$5  to  $5.99 

2.5 

2.6 

6.8 

1.8 

2.3 

1.0 

2.8 

2.8 

1  8 

$6  to  S3  99 

4.0 

o    O 

5.6 

1  8 

3  8 

1  5 

1.4 

3  1 

3  9 

2  4 

$7  to  $7.99  . 

4.5 

3.6 

4.9 

3.9 

3.6 

2.1 

8.5 

3.1 

4.3 

3  0 

$8  to  SS  99 

5.0 

6.5 

11.8 

4.7 

7  3 

4.3 

5.6 

2  1 

6  4 

*>  2 

$9toS9.99  

7.1 

6.1 

8.1 

8.6 

8.4 

5.7 

5.6 

2.1 

7.6 

(>  1 

$10  to  811.99  .       .  . 

14.5 

16.7 

16.8 

16.9 

14  2 

15.1 

15.5 

21  6 

14  6 

1C,  2 

$12  to  $13  99 

36  9 

16  3 

14  3 

14  7 

15  1 

16  1 

14  1 

22  7 

25  6 

1C)  3 

$14  to  $15.99  

9.4 

14.8 

11.2 

14  3 

13.5 

11.5 

15.5 

13  4 

11  4 

13  3 

$16  to  $17.99 

4.3 

10  7 

6  2 

10  7 

7  3 

15  1 

12  7 

11  3 

6  0 

12  5 

$18  to  $19.99  

2.9 

5.7 

2.5 

5.7 

6.9 

9.8 

8.5 

8.2 

4  7 

7  5 

$20toS22.49      .  .   . 

1.4 

3.2 

6 

6  1 

4  2 

6  5 

2  8 

4  1 

2  6 

1  9 

$22.10  to  S24.99... 

.9 

1.8 

1.8 

3.6 

3.5 

1.4 

2.1 

2.0 

$25  to  $27.  49  

.4 

1.5 

4 

1  2 

1.5 

1.4 

2  1 

7 

1  4 

t27..rO  to  $29.99  

.4 

.8 

.4 

1.0 

1.2 

.6 

.9 

$30  and  over  

.3 

4 

•1  9 

1  4 

8 

8 

Total. 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  01 

1  Including  44  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

2  Including  71  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.       99 

TABLE  44 NUMBER  OF  WAIST  OPERATORS,  MALE,  PIECEWORKERS,  EARNING  EACH 

'    CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR,  1912  AND  1913,  BY 
CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 


Classified  earnings 
per  week. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassoci- 
ation  A. 

Association 
B. 

Nonassocia- 
tionB. 

Total. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

1 

1 

1 
2 
4 
4 
5 
5 
11 
9 
29 
25 
38 
28 
28 
29 
20 
16 
15 
20 

1 
7 
3 
3 
4 
8 
17 
7 
25 
40 
51 
55 
45 
44 
47 
27 
17 
31 

0.3 
.7 
1.4 
1.4 
1.7 
1.7 
3.9 
3.1 
10.0 
8.7 
13.1 
9.7 
9.7 
10.0 
6.9 
5.6 
5.2 
6.9 

0.2 
1.6 
.7 
.7 
.9 
1.9 
3.9 
1.6 
5.8 
9.2 
11.8 
12.8 
10.4 
10.2 
10.9 
6.3 
3.9 
7.2 

$3  to  $3  99 

1 

1 
1 
3 

7 
7 
23 
14 
25 
19 
16 
19 
10 
8 
8 
7 

2 

"T 
1 
5 
10 
2 
10 
18 
27 
32 
21 
27 
27 
18 
10 
18 

1 
3 
3 
2 
3 
1 

1 
6 
2 
1 
1 
2 
1 
1 
1 

5 
2 
1 
3 
2 
5 
1 
9 
16 
15 
12 
8 
11 
11 
2 
4 
1 

$4  to  $4.99  

15  to  $5  99 

1 
1 

$6  to  $3  99 

$7  to  $7.99  

1 
1 
1 

5 
5 
9 
7 
9 
7 
9 
7 
6 
13 

1 
2 
3 
6 

6 
9 
11 
15 
5 
8 
6 
3 
10 

$8  to  $8  99 

2 

"T 

$9  to  $9.99  

$10  to  $11.99  
$12  to  $13.99  
$14  to  $15.99  

2 
1 
2 
1 

$16  to  $17.99  
$18  to  $19  99 

i 
i 

i 
i 

""2 

$20  to  $22.49  

$22.50  to  $24  99... 

$25  to  $27  49 

$27.50  to  $29.99  
$30  and  over  

Total  



170 

230 

30 

108 

80 

87 

9 

7 

1289 

432 

100.0 

100.0 

1  Including  4  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  Aveekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 
OPERATORS,  NOT  SPECIFIED. 

Under  this  heading  were  included  all  operators  employed  in  shops 
manufacturing  dresses,  who  were  found  designated  on  the  pay  rolls 
as  "  operators."  This  includes  operators  who  can  make  an  entire 
dress,  as  well  as  any  one  of  the  13  classes  of  operators  enumerated  in 
Table  8,  such  as  buttonhole  makers,  hemstitchers,  tuckers,  trim- 
mers, etc. 


Of  the  6,455  "  operators,  not  specified, "  reported  in  Table  8  for 
1913,  5,591,  or  87  per  cent,  were  women- and  864,  or  13  per  cent, 
were  men. 

WAGES. 

In  1912,  47  per  cent  of  all  the  " operators,  not  specified,"  were 
week  workers  and  53  per  cent  pieceworkers.  The  extent  of  piece- 
work has  increased  since  the  adoption  of  the  protocol,  the  piece- 
workers in  1913  comprising  59  per  cent  and  the  week  workers  41  per 
cent. 

Earnings  of  pieceworkers. — As  will  be  seen  from  Tables  45,  46, 
47,  and  48,  the  largest  single  group  among  the  "  operators,  not  speci- 
fied," were  women  pieceworkers,  who  numbered  3,205  in  1913.  The 
next  largest  group  were  the  women  week  workers,  who  numbered 
2,386.  The  men  numbered  607  among  the  pieceworkers  and  257 
among  the  week  workers. 


100  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUKEAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

Considering  the  earnings  of  the  largest  group,  namely,  the  women 
pieceworkers,  we  find  a  uniform  increase  in  the  proportion  of  those 
earning  $14  a  week  and  over  since  the  adoption  of  the  protocol. 
These  constituted  less  than  39.  per  cent  in  1912  and  nearly  54  per 
cent  in  1913.  The  number  of  those  earning  $12  and  less  than  $14 
constituted  about  the  same  percentage  both  years,  namely,  over 
13  per  cent,  while  the  percentage  of  those  earning  under  $12  a  week 
declined  from  over  48  per  cent  in  1912  to  less  than  33  per  cent  in 
1913.  The  percentage  of  men  pieceworkers  earning  higher  rates  of 
wages  was  larger  than  that  of  the  women.  Thus  the  number  of 
those  earning  $20  and  over  during  the  busiest  week  of  1913  consti- 
tuted 48  per  cent,  or  nearly  one-half,  of  all  the  men  and  less  than 
21  per  cent,  or  a  little  over  one-fifth,  of  all  the  women. 

The  changes  in  the  earnings  of  men  pieceworkers  since  the  adop- 
tion of  the  protocol  are  not  so  conspicuous  as  in  the  case  of  the 
women.  Among  those  earning  under  $10  a  week,  there  was  a  decline, 
namely,  from  over  14  per  cent  in  1912  to  nearly  8  per  cent  in  1913. 
The  proportion  of  those  earning  $10  and  less  than  $16  a  week  increased 
from  18  per  cent  in  1912  to  23  per  cent  in  1913.  The  number  of 
those  receiving  $16  and  less  than  $20  a  week  formed  practically 
the  same  percentage  of  the  total  number  of  male  workers  both  years, 
namely,  20  and  20.3  per  cent.  Those  earning  $20  and  less  than  $25 
increased  from  a  little  over  19  per  cent  in  1912  to  nearly  24  per  cent 
in  1913,  while  those  earning  $25  a  week  and  over  declined  from  more 
than  28  per  cent  in  1912  to  nearly  24  per  cent  in  1913. 

Wages  of  week  workers. — Among  the  women  week  workers  there 
was  an  increase  in  the  proportion  of  those  receiving  $14  and  over, 
which  constituted  less  than  22  per  cent  in  1912  and  nearly  31  per 
cent  in  1913.  The  proportion  of  those  receiving  under  $14  a  week 
declined  during  that  period.  The  same  is  true  of  the  men  week 
workers,  except  that  the. line  has  to  be  drawn  at  $16  a  week,  the 
percentage  of  those  earning  $16  a  week  and  over  having  increased 
from  43.5  in  1912  to  56.6  in  1913. 

Comparing  the  men's  and  women's  earnings  during  1913,  the 
general  rule  is  observed  here  of  the  men  receiving  considerably 
higher  wages  than  the  women.  The  number  of  those  receiving  $16 
a  week  and  over  constituted  less  than  11  per  cent  among  the  women 
and  nearly  57  per  cent  among  the  men.  That  is  to  say,  while  only  a 
little  over  one-tenth  of  the  women  week  workers  received  $16  a 
week  and  over,  considerably  more  than  one-half  of  the  men  received 
those  wages.  The  differences  between  the  earnings  of  operators 
in  the  different  branches  of  the  industry  have  been  fully  discussed 
in  speaking  of  the  operators  as  a  whole.  The  details  as  to  "  operators, 
not  specified,"  will  be  found  in  Tables  45,  46,  47,  and  48. 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND'  <J>vXlfeT   INDT/SPRY.    101 


TABLE  45.—  NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  OPERATORS'  NO'S"  ejPJSfclF.tfy  -?3MALE, 
WEEK  WORKERS,.  RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE"  OF  WA^GES  PER  WEEK, 
1012  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 


NUMBER. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonasso  elation 
A. 

Association  B. 

Nonass 

I 

1912 

relation 
5. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

1 

11 
17 
38 
37 
77 
85 
111 
251 
204 
112 
20 
5 
3 
1 

2 
3 
8 
14 
20 
25 
37 
37 
108 
221 
167 
54 
25 
6 
2 

3 
15 
30 
64 
80 
137 
167 
195 
451 
510 
321 
89 
36 
11 
3 

$3  to  $3.99  

3 
11 
18 
56 
55 
66 
57 
161 
151 
120 
28 
10 
2 

1 
5 
10 
17 
28. 
35 
34 
46 
37 
10 
6 

3 
26 
50 
117 
160 
160 
171 
440 
509 
473 
179 
61 
16 

$4  to  S4.09 

12 
31 
50 
86 
71 
73 
157 
117 
66 
19 
1 
3 

1 
1 

9 
12 
14 
33 
91 
186 
245 
113 
46 
5 

2 

15  to  $5.99  

2 
6 
7 
10 
13 
46 
48 
32 
9 
6 
1 

$6  to  80.99  

2 
7 
9 
8 
31 
55 
42 
19 
4 
6 

$7  to  §7.99 

$8toS3.99  

$9  to  $9.09  
flOtoSH.C9  

$12to$13.D9  

$14  to  $15.99 

$16  to  $17.99  

$18  to  $19.99     . 

$20  to  §22.49 

1 

122.  £0  to  $24.99  

$25  to  $27  49 

$27.  50  to  $29  99 

$30  and  over  

1 

1 

1 

1 

Total  

973 

738 

230 

686 

730 

757 

180 

185 

i  2,  113 

22,366 

PER  CENT. 


Under  $3 

0  1 

0.3 

0.1 

$3  to  $  ).99.        .  .  . 

1.1 

0.4 

0.4 

.4 

.7 

0.1 

$4  to  $4  C9 

1  8 

1.5 

2.1 

1.7 

1.1 

0.1 

1.1 

1.4 

1.1 

$5  to$.3.'J9  

3.9 

2.4 

4.3 

4.5 

1.9 

.1 

1.1 

3.0 

2.1 

$8  to  $3.99 

3.8 

7.6 

7.4 

7.3 

2.7 

1.1 

3.3 

1.1 

3.8 

4.9 

$7toS7.99  
$8  to  $8.99  

7.9 
8.7 

7.5 
8.9 

12.2 
15.2 

12.5 
10.4 

3.4 
5.1 

1.6 
1.9 

3.9 
5.6 

3.8 
4.9 

6.5 
7.9 

6.8 
6.8 

$9  to  $9.99 

11.4 

7.7 

14.8 

10.6 

5.1 

4.4 

7.2 

4.3 

9.2 

7.2 

$10  to  $11.99  

25.8 

21.8 

20.0 

22.9 

14.8 

12.0 

25.5 

16.7 

21.4 

18.6 

$12  to  $13.99 

21.0 

20.4 

16.1 

17.0 

30.3 

24.6 

26.7 

29.7 

24.2 

21.5 

<14  to  $15.99  

11.5 

16.3 

4.3 

9.6 

22.9 

32.4 

17.8 

22.7 

15.2 

20.0 

$16  to  $17.99.     .   .   . 

2.1 

3.8 

2.8 

2.8 

7.4 

14.9 

5.0 

10.3 

4.2 

7.6 

$18  to  $19.99 

.5 

1  4 

.2 

3.4 

6.1 

3.3 

2.2 

1.7 

2.6 

$20  to  $22.49  

.3 

.3 

.4 

.5 

.8 

.7 

.6 

3.2 

.5 

.7 

$22.  50  to  $24.  99 

.1 

.3 

.2 

$25  to  $27.49 

$27  50  to  $29  99 

$30  and  over  

.1 

.1 

(3) 

(3) 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

1  Not  including  in  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wa^es  could  be  ascertained. 

2  Not  including  2J  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained, 
s  Less  than  one-tenth  of  1  per  cent. 


102 


•BULLEJK*  ;O#  ITSiE   BUREAU   OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  4a^Hl/iMfcKR  AN»'.  PERCENT'  OF  OPERATORS  NOT  SPECIFIED,  MALE,  WEEK 
WORKER^,  RECEIVING  'fiACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912 
AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association  B.1 

Nonassociation 
B.i 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3  

|3  to  $3.99  

$4  to  $4  99 

1 
3 
2 
2 
3 
4 
8 
13 
16 
8 
4 
6 

1 
4 
3 
2 

4 
8 
22 
16 
26 
18 
18 
5 
1 

1 

5 
2 
3 
8 
6 
14 
42 
54 
37 
39 
21 
4 
3 

1 

4 
7 

14 
34 
33 
50 
51 
28 
12 
2 
1 
1 

•  c  fn  «5  OQ 

2 

1 

jg  to  $6  99 

3 
1 
2 
3 
2 
5 
9 
10 
17 
6 
1 

$7  to  $7  99          

1 

1 
1 

$8  to  $8  99 

5 

1 

$9  to  $9  99 

2 
1 

7 
12 
15 
14 
5 
1 
1 

$10  to  $11  99 

4 
19 
20 
10 
19 
10 
3 
1 

3 
3 
5 
12 
14 
3 
6 
1 

1 

3 
6 
4 
2 

1 
4 
3 
2 
2 
1 

$12  to  $13.99  

$14  to  $15.99  
$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19  99 

$20  to  $22  49 

$22  50  to  $°4  99 

$25  to  $27  49 

1 

$27  50  to  $29  99 

1 

1 

Total 

91 

60 

71 

131 

60 

49 

17 

16 

2  239  1        s  256 

PER  CENT. 


Under  $3 

• 

$3  to  $3  99 

$4  to  $4.99 

1.4 

0.8 

0.4 

0.4 

$5  to  $5  99 

4  2 

3  0 

2.  1 

2.0 

$6  to  $6.99.            .  . 

5.0 

2.8 

2.3 

.8 

2.3 

$7  to  $7.99 

1.7 

2  8 

1  6 

1.3 

1.6 

$8to$8.99  

5.5 

3.3 

4.2 

2.3 

3.3 

2.7 

$9  to  §9.99 

5.0 

5.6 

3  0 

2.5 

2.7 

$10  to  $11  99 

4  4 

3  3 

11  3 

6  1 



5  9 

5  5 

$12  to  $13.99.. 

20.9 

8.3 

18.3 

16.8 

17.6 

13.3 

$14  to  $15.99 

22  0 

15  0 

22  6 

12  2 



22  6 

12  9 

$16  to  $17.99  

11.0 

16.6 

11.3 

19.9 

15.5 

19.5 

$18  to  $19.99 

20  9 

28  4 

5  6 

13  7 

16.3 

19  9 

$20to$22.49  

11.0 

10.0 

8.5 

13.7 



8.8 

10.9 

$22.,  >0  to  $24.99  

3.3 

1.7 

3  8 

1.6 

4.7 

$25  to  $27  49 

1  0 

1  4 

3 

1  3 

8 

$27.50  to  $29.99  

1.7 

.4 

$30  and  over  .  . 

4 



Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

... 

100.0 

100.8 

' 

J  Percentages  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

8  Not  including  6  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

a  Not  including  1  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rate  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 


WAGES   AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.    103 


TABI.K  47.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  OPERATORS  NOT  SPECIFIED,  FEMALE, 
PIECEWORKERS,  EARNING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT  DURING  THE  BUSIEST 
WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classifier!  eornings 
per  week. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association 
B. 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

60 
29 
28 
45 
63 
79 
86 
107 
189 
173 
122 
102 
71 
35 
40 
18 
10 
15 

36 
22 
22 
33 
34 
64 
55 
76 
178 
185 
191 
168 
95 
106 
49 
35 
21 
26 

9 
5 
8 
10 
13 
15 
9 
15 
36 
31 
23 
11 
14 
2 
1 
1 

13 
7 
6 
9 
12 
19 
17 
24 
47 
74 
56 
35 
28 
24 
12 
6 
3 
3 

35 
17 
26 
27 
29 
43 
43 
52 
130 
120 
130 
93 
92 
72 
40 
21 
11 
11 

33 
6 
19 
20 
24 
31 
43 
45 
133 
140 
146 
142 
126 
130 
111 
64 
30 
25 

104 
53 
64 
84 
108 
138 
141 
175 
366 
333 
291 
215 
181 
119 
82 
41 
21 
26 

82 
35 
48 
65 
70 
119 
121 
147 
372 
429 
415 
369 
271 
277 
183 
107 
60 
55 

$3  to  $3  99 

2 
2 
2 
3 
1 
3 
1 
11 
9 
16 
9 
4 
10 
1 
1 

$4  to  $4.  99  

1 

3 

$5  to  $5  99 

16  to  $6  09 

17  to  $7.  99  

5 
6 
2 
14 
30 
22 
24 
22 
17 
11 
2 
6 
1 

18  to  $S  99 

$9  to  $9.99  

$10  to  $11.  99  

$12  to  813  99 

$11  to  815.99  

$16  to  $17.99  
$18  to  $19  99 

$20  to  $22.49  

$22.50  to  $24.99  
$25  to  $27.49  

$27.50  to  829.99  
$30  and  over 

Total         

1,272 

1,396 

203 

395 

992 

1,268 

75 

166 

i  2,  542 

2  3,  225 

PER  CENT. 


Under  $3 

4.7 

2.6 

4.4 

3.3 

3.5 

2.6 

4.0 

2.5 

$3  to  S3  99 

2  3 

1  6 

2.5 

1.7 

1  7 

.5 

2.7 

2.1 

1  l 

$4  to  $4  99 

2.2 

1.6 

3.9 

1.5 

2.6 

1.5 

2.7 

0.6 

2.5 

1.5 

$5  to  $5.  99  

3.5 

2.4 

4.9 

2.3 

2.8 

1.6 

2.7 

1.8 

3.3 

2.0 

$6  to  $6  99 

4  9 

2  4 

6  4 

3  0 

2  9 

1  9 

4  0 

4  3 

2  2 

$7  to  $7  99 

6.2 

4.6 

7.4 

4.8 

4.3 

2.4 

1.3 

3.0 

5.4 

3.7 

$8  to  $8.  99  

$9  to  $9  99 

6.7 

8.4 

3.9 

5.4 

4.4 
7.4 

4.3 
6.1 

4.3 
5.3 

3.4 
3.5 

4.0 
1.3 

3.6 
1.2 

5.5 
6.9 

3.8 
4.5 

$10toS11.99  

14.9 

12.8 

17.8 

11.9 

13.1 

10.5 

14.7 

8.4 

14.4 

11.5 

$12  to  $13.99  
$14  to  S15  99 

13.6 
9.6 

13.2 
13.7 

15.3 
11.3 

18.7 
14.2 

12.1 
13.1 

11.0 
11.5 

12.0 
21.4 

18.1 
13.3 

13.1 
11.4 

13.3 
12.9 

$16  to  $17.99  

8.0 

12.0 

5.4 

8.9 

9.4 

11.2 

12.0 

14.5 

8.5 

11.4 

$18  1«5  $19  99 

5.6 

6.8 

6.9 

7.1 

9.3 

9.9 

5.3 

13.3 

7.1 

8.4 

$20  to  $22.49  

2.8 

7.6 

1.0 

6.1 

7.3 

10.3 

13.3 

10.2 

4.7 

8.6 

$22.50  to  $24.99  
$25  to  $27.49  
$27  50  to  $29  90 

3.2 

1.4 
.8 

3.5 
2.5 
1.5 

.5 
.5 

3.0 

1.5 

.8 

4.0 
2.1 
1.1 

8.8 
5.0 
2.4 

1.3 
1.3 

6.6 
1.2 
3.6 

3.2 
1.6 

.8 

5.7 
3.3 
1.9 

$30  and  over     . 

1.2 

1.9 

.8 

1.1 

2.0 

.6 

1.2 

1.7 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

1  Including  113  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

2  Including  20  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 


104 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  48.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  OPERATORS  NOT  SPECIFIED,  MALE,  PIECE- 
WORKERS, EARNING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK 
OF  THE  YEAR,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  earnings 
per  week. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association 
B.i 

Nonassociation 
B.i 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

8 

1 

3 
1 
3 

1 

1 

1 
3 

1 

10 
5 

4 
4 
6 
2 
6 
5 
7 
17 
35 
46 
60 
63 
61 
74 
70 
50 
•       26 
72 

$3  to  S3  99 

3 
3 
2 
5 
3 
2 
3 
14 
20 
17 
21 
16 
14 
19 
12 
7 
15 

$4  to  $4  99 

$5  to  $5  99 

2 
1 
8 
5 
6 
13 
'     14 
14 
23 
23 
22 
16 
23 
17 
26 

1 
1 
1 
2 
1 
3 
4 
4 
6 
7 
5 
6 
5 
4 
13 

3 
3 
10 
11 
10 
19 
20 
28 
35 
38 
40 
30 
34 
27 
42 

$6  to  $6.  99 

1 
2 
4 

13 
19 
23 
28 
35 
38 
49 
42 
27 
13 
45 

1 

1 
4 
3 
3 
2 
10 
6 
8 
12 
7 
6 
4 
3 

$7  to  $7  99 

18  to  $8.99 

1 

$9  to  S9  99 

1 

S10  to  $11.1-9...  . 

2 
2 
13 
5 
5 
9 
5 
11 
6 
11 

J12  to  S13  99 

1 
2 
2 
2 
2 
4 

$14  to  $15  99 

$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19  99 

$20  to  $22  49 

1 
1 

$22.50  to  $24.99  

$25  to  $27  49 

$27.50  to  $29.99  
$30  and  over 

2 

1 

Total  

222 

346 

72 

176 

67 

71 

4 

15 

2365 

*608 

PER  CENT. 


Under  $3... 

3.6 

0.9 

1.4 

2.7 

0.7 

$3  to  $3  99 

.4 

.3 

1.4 

1.7 

1.4 

.7 

$4  to  $4.  99  

.9 

1.7 

1.0 

$5  to  $5.  99  .. 

.9 

1.1 

.8 

.3 

$6  to  $6  99 

4 

3 

1  4 

2  8 

g 

1  0 

$7  to  87.  99  

3.-  6 

.6 

1.4 

1.7 

2.7 

.8 

$8  to  $3  99 

2  3 

1.2 

5  5 

1  i 

3  0 

1  1 

$9  to  39.99  

2.7 

3.8 

4.2 

1.7 

2.7 

2.8 

$10  to  $11.  99 

5.8 

5.5 

4.2 

8  0 

5  2 

5  8 

$12to$13.99  

6.3 

6.6 

2.8 

11.4 

5.5 

7.6 

$14  to  $15.  99  .. 

6.3 

8.1 

13  9 

9.7 

7  7 

9.9 

$16  to  $17.  99  

10.4 

10.1 

8.3 

11.9 

9.6 

10.4 

$18  to  $19.  99.   .   . 

10.4 

10.9 

11.1 

9.1 

10  4 

9.9 

$20  to  $22.49  

9.9 

14.1 

16.7 

8.0 

11.0 

12.2 

$22.50  to  $24.99  

7.2 

12.1 

9.7 

10.8 

8.3 

11.5 

$25  to  $27.  49  

10.4 

7.8 

8.3 

6.8 

9.3 

8.2 

$27.50  to  $29.99  

7.7 

3.8 

5.5 

4.0 

7.4 

4.3 

$30  and  over 

11.7 

13.0 

4.2 

8  5 

11.5 

11.8 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

103  0 

1  Percentages  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

2  Including  6  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

3  Including  1  week  worker  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rate  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

EMPLOYEES  OTHER  THAN  OPERATORS. 

ASSORTERS. 

Assorters  are  employed  only  in  large  shops.  Their  work  consists 
in  the  preparation  of  bundles  of  work  for  the  operators.  Taking  up 
a  bundle  (which  consists  of  a  certain  number  of  parts  that  go  to  make 
up  the  waist  or  dress)  as  it  comes  from  the  cutter,  the  assorter  adds  to 
it  all  the  necessary  parts  which  the  operator  will  require  in  his  work, 
such  as  laces,  embroideries,  belts,  and  other  kinds  of  trimmings.  The 
assorters  must  be  intelligent  and  understand  all  the  parts  that  go  to 
make  up  a  waist.  They  have  to  match  the  laces  and  understand 
how  to  substitute  a  lace  of  a  given  kind  when  the  supply  of  the  origi- 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY^    105 


nal  lace  is  exhausted.  A  mistake  made  by  the  assorter  will  result 
in  serious  delay  in  the  work  of  the  operator  and  may  also  cause 
serious  loss  through  the  sewing  on  of  the  wrong  lace  or  trimmings. 

SEX. 

Assorters  are  usually  girls.  Out  of  the  total  of  151  assorters  given 
in  Table  49,  only  4  were  men.  The  source  of  supply  of  assorters  is 
cleaners  and  "  cutting-out-lace "  girls.  The  brightest  among  these 
two  classes  of  girls,  those  who  show  the  most  intelligence  and  the 
keenest  perception  of  color  and  lace  design,  are  allowed  to  graduate 
into  the  class  of  assorters 

WAGES. 

As  will  be  seen  from  Table  49,  wage  records  were  obtained  for  only 
151  assorters.  There  are  probably  more  than  that  number  of  as- 
sorters employed  in  the  industry,  although  the  number  is  hardly  much 
larger,  since  only  the  large  shops  can  afford  to  employ  this  class  of 
workers.  Of  the  total  number,  142,  or  94  per  cent,  were  employed 
in  association  shops,  leaving  but  9,  or  6  per  cent,  employed  in  the 
nonassociation  shops,  which  are  mostly  small  shops.  Assorters  are 
paid  by  the  week.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  table,  the  wages  of  as- 
sorters both  in  1912  and  1913  ranged  between  $4  and  $18  per  week. 
The  number  of  those  who  received  under  $6  a  week  constituted  over 
8  per  cent  of  the  total  number  employed.  More  than  one-fourth  of 
all  the  assorters  received  under  $8  a  week,  and  less  than  one-fifth  of  the 
workers  (18.5  per  cent)  received  $6  and  less  than  $8  a  week.  A  lit  tie 
over  one-half,  or  51.8  per  cent,  received  $9  and  less  than  $14  a  week. 
Five  women  and  one  man  were  found  receiving  $14  and  less  than  $18 
a  week.  These  workers,  in  addition  to  being  assorters,  acted  as  fore- 
women and  foreman,  distributing  work  as  well  as  preparing  it.  In 
general,  the  higher-grade  assorters  act  as  assistants  to  the  foremen 
and  forewomen  in  distributing  work  to  the  operators. 

TABLE  49.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  ASSORTERS,  WEEK  WORKERS,  RECEIVING 
EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  SEX. 


Classified  rates  of  wages  or  earnings,  per 
week,  and  classes  of  shops. 

Females. 

Males. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

$4  to  S4.99 

2 
11 
10 
16 
17 
17 
32 
20 
3 
1 

2 
10 
13 
15 
26 
18 
37 
21 
3 
2 

1.5 
8.5 
7.8 
12.4 
13.2 
13.2 
24.8 
15.5 
2.3 
.8 

1.4 
6.8 
8.8 
10.2 
17.7 
12.3 
25.2 
14.3 
2.0 
1.3 

£5  to  So.  99 

$6  to  $6  99 

$7  to  $7.99. 

$3  to  $3.99 

$9  to  $9  99 

$10  to  $11  99 

$12  to  $13.99 

3 

$14  to  $15.99 

1 

$16  to  $17.99 

Total 

129 

147 

100.0 

100.0 

1 

4 

Association  A 

Workers  in  specified  classes  of  shops. 

51 

77 

64 
74 
9 

1 

1 
3 

Association  B 

1 

106  BULLETIN   OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

CLEANERS. 

Cleaning  forms  the  lowest  step  in  the  industrial  ladder  in  the  dress  i 
and  waist  shops.  It  is  the  first  occupation  of  young  girls  without 
industrial  training.  Their  work  consists  in  cutting  off  loose  threads 
with  the  aid  of  scissors.  Very  little  skill  is  required,  although  care- 
lessness may  result  in  great  damage,  since  the  thread  has  to  be  cut 
close  to  the  garment  and  an  unskilled  cleaner  may  cut  into  the  waist 
or  dress  in  trying  to  cut  off  the  thread.  Cleaners  who  show  aptitude 
for  more  important  work  are  graduated  into  other  kinds  of  work,  such 
as  finishing,  assorting,  operating,  and  even  examining. 

SEX. 

Only  girls  are  employed  in  this  work,  and  2,086  cleaners  were  found 
working  in  the  industry  during  1913. 

WAGES. 

Table  50  gives  the  wages  of  cleaners  in  1912  and  1913  in  each  of  the 
four  branches  of  the  industry  and  also  for  the  industry  as  a  whole. 
As  will  be  seen  from  that  table,  weekly  rates  were  obtained  for  2,006 
cleaners  in  1913.  Of  the  remaining  80  cleaners,  20  were  pieceworkers 
and  60  were  week  workers  for  whom  no  wage  data  could  be  obtained. 
As  the  number  of  pieceworkers  is  very  small,  only  week  workers 
are  considered  in  analyzing  the  earnings  of  the  cleaners.  Only  a 
little  over  2  per  cent  of  the  cleaners  were  getting  $3  and  under  $4  a 
week  in  1913,  but  those  receiving  under  $6  a  week  exceeded  one- third 
of  all  the  cleaners,  or  over  37  per  cent.  Nearly  one-half  of  the  girls, 
over  47  per  cent,  received  $6  and  less  than  $8  a  week;  nearly  16  per 
cent  received  $8  a  week  and  over;  and  a  few  received  $12. 

Comparison  of  wages  in  1912  and  1913. — A  comparison  of  the  wages 
earned  during  1913  with  those  earned  during  the  preceding  year 
before  the  adoption  of  the  protocol  shows  a  uniform  decline  in  the 
percentage  of  workers  receiving  less  than  $6  a  week  and  an  increase 
in  the  percentage  of  those  receiving  $6  a  week  and  over.  In  1912 
over  60  per  cent  of  the  cleaners  received  under  $6  a  week  as  com- 
pared with  37.3  per  cent  in  1913.  On  the  other  hand,  those  receiv- 
ing $6  and  less  than  $8  constituted  less  than  29  per  cent  in  1912  and 
over  47  per  cent  in  1913.  Those  earning  $8  a  week  and  over  com- 
prised 11  per  cent  in  1912  and  nearly  16  per  cent  in  1913.  These  facts 
are  brought  out  in  Table  50  and  are  shown  graphically  in  Chart  9,  in 
which  the  broken  line  (representing  the  percentage  of  workers  receiv- 
ing specified  wages  in  1912)  is  above  the  solid  line  (representing  1913) 
in  the  case  of  all  wage  groups  below  $6  and  is  below  the  solid  line 
for  wages  of  $6  and  over,  showing  the  shifting  of  the  workers  from 
the  lower  to  the  higher  paid  groups. 

Wages  in  association  and  nonassociation   shops. — The   figures   in 
Table  50  show  'the  varying  percentages  of  workers  getting  specified 


WAGES   AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.    107 

rates  of  wages  in  the  high-grade  and  low-grade  shops  belonging  to 
the  association  as  well  as  in  those  not  members  of  the  association. 
The  most  noticeable  point  in  the  table  is  the  fact  that  38  per  cent  of 
the  cleaners  employed  in  nonassociation  A  shops,  manufacturing  the 
cheaper  garments,  received  $6  per  week  and  under  $7.  The  propor- 
tion receiving  that  rate  in  the  nonassociation  B  shops  was  26.9  per 
cent.  In  the  association  shops  the  same  situation  is  found,  namely, 
that  the  wages  in  the  A  shops  are  higher  than  in  the  B  shops.  Thus 
the  percentage  of  cleaners  receiving  $6  to  $6.99  per  week  in  the  asso- 
ciation A  shops  was  29.3,  while  in  the  association  B  shops  it  was  25.8. 
The  percentage  of  cleaners  receiving  under  $6  a  week  was  nearly 

CHART  9.— PER  CENT  OF  CLEANERS,  FEMALE  (WEEK  WORKERS),  RE- 
CEIVING EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND 
1913. 


«5B 

J5 
50 

Z5 
ZO 
15 
/o 
5 

35 

2.5 

ZO 
15 
10 
5 
fff 

A 

r 

2 

\ 

\ 

Weekly  Rates  of 

/ 

i 

/ 

\ 

\ 

Wages  of  Cleaners. 

/ 

/ 

x        \ 

\ 

\ 

1912    

1    1 

\ 

/ 

>S 

•^^r—  , 

=~~  —  - 

$2  $3  $4-  $5  $6  $7  $8  $9  $10 


$12 


$14 


26  in  the  nonassociation  A  shops  and  over  35  in  the  association  A 
shops.  This  indicates  a  higher  percentage  of  cleaners  receiving 
less  than  the  minimum  rate  in  the  association  shops  manufacturing 
the  cheaper  garments  than  in  the  nonassociation  shops.  In  the 
B  shops,  i.  e.,  those  manufacturing  the  higher-grade  garments,  the 
percentage  receiving  under  $6  a  week  was  36.5  in  the  nonassocia- 
tion shops  and  48.9  in  the  association  shops.  On  the  other  hand, 
for  those  receiving  $7  and  over  per  week,  the  percentages  in  the  non- 
association  A  shops  and  in  the  association  A  shops  were  practically 
the  same.  In  the  B  shops,  the  percentage  in  the  nonassociation  shops 
was  less  than  37  and  in  the  association  shops  over  25. 


108 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


In  other  words,  the  proportion  of  experienced  cleaners  getting  more 
than  the  minimum  scale  is  about  the  same  whether  the  shops  are  those 
manufacturing  high-grade  or  low-grade  garments,  whether  belonging 
to  the  association  or  not.  The  proportion  of  those  receiving  the 
minimum  scale  of  $6  a  week  is  practically  the  same  in  all  except  the 
nonassociation  shops  making  the  cheaper  garments.  On  the  other 
hand  the  cleaners  receiving  less  than  the  minimum  scale  are  more 
numerous  in  the  association  than  in  the  nonassociation  shops,  irre- 
spective of  whether  high-grade  or  low-grade  garments  are  manufac- 
tured. As  the  association  shops  include  mostly  large  establishments 
while  the  nonassociation  shops  are  mostly  of  a  small  size,  the  difference 
is  apparently  due  to  the  fact  that  in  large  shops  there  are  quite  a 
number  of  so-called  floor  girls  and  errand  girls  employed  who  are  not 
needed  at  all  in  the  small  shops.  As  the  errand  girls  are  not  always 
kept  apart  from  the  cleaners  on  the  pay  rolls  and,  moreover,  are  made 
to  work  on  cleaning  when  they  have  no  errands  to  do,  it  was  found 
necessary  to  enter  them  all  as  cleaners.  This  may  account  for  the 
larger  proportion  of  "cleaners"  receiving  less  than  the  minimum  scale 
in  the  association  shops  as  compared  with  the  nonassociation  shops. 

TABLE  5O.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  CLEANERS,  FEMALE,  WEEK  WORKERS,* 
RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS 
OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

19122 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Und«r  S3 

5 
81 
212 
247 
188 
81 
68 
18 
17 
8 

5 
171 
356 
401 
293 
152 
112 
28 
21 
9 

$3  to  $3  99 

39 
141 
198 
305 
198 
94 
55 
16 
4 

21 
28 
30 
35 
25 
22 
4 
1 
1 

4 
30 
62 
141 
57 
52 
16 
8 
1 

65 
116 
116 
67 
46 
21 
6 
2 

11 
119 
135 
140 
79 
43 
7 
6 
2 

1 

1. 
2 
16 
14 
10 
4 
2 
2 
1 

46 
292 
411 
600 
344 
193 
80 
32 
8 

$4  to  84.99  

$5  to  $5.99 

8 
3 

$6  to  $6.99  

$7  to  87.99 

$8  to  88.99  

1 
..... 

$9  to  $9.99 

$10  to  $11.99 

$12  to  $13.99  

Total 

928 

1,041 

167 

371 

439 

542 

14 

52 

31,548 

<2,006 

PER  CENT. 


Under  S3 

0.5 

0  3 

$3  to  $3.99  

9.1 

2.9 

12.6 

1.1 

14.8 

2.0 

1.9 

11.0 

2.3 

$4  to  $4.99  

22.9 

13.5 

16.7 

8.1 

26.4 

22.0 

3.9 

23.0 

14.5 

$5  to  $5.99 

26.6 

19.0 

18  0 

16.7 

26  4 

24  9 

30  7 

25  9 

20.5 

$6  to  $6.99  

20.3 

29.3 

20.9 

38.0 

15.3 

25.8 

26.9 

18.9 

30.0 

$7  to  $7.99 

8.7 

19.0 

15.0 

15.3 

10.4 

14  6 

19  2 

9.8 

17.1 

$8  to  $8  99 

7.3 

9.0 

13.2 

14  0 

4  8 

7  9 

7  7 

7  2 

9.6 

$9  to  $9.99  

1.9 

5.3 

2.4 

4.3 

1.4 

1.3 

3.9 

1.8 

4.0 

$10  to  $11.  99 

1.8 

1.6 

.6 

2.2 

.5 

i.l 

3.9 

1.4 

1.6 

$12  to  $13  99 

.9 

.4 

.6 

.3 

4 

1  9 

6 

.4 

Total 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100  0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

1  In  addition  to  the  week  workers  shown  in  this  table,  there  were  45  pieceworkers  in  1912  and  20  in  1913. 

2  Percentages  not  computed  for  the  year  1912  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees, 
s  Not  including  44,  for  whom  weekly  rates  could  not  be  ascertained. 

*  Not  including  60,  for  whom  weekly  rates  could  not  be  ascertained. 


.WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT  IN   DKESS   AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.      109 


TABLE  50.-NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  CLEANERS,  FEMALE,  WEEK  WORKERS, 
RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS 
OF  SHOPS— Concluded. 

SUMMARY  OF  PERCENTAGES. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $6 

59.1 
20.3 
20.6 

35.4 
29.3 
35.3 

47.3 
20.9 
31.8 

25.9 
38.0 
36.1 

67.6 
15.3 
17.1 

48.9 
25.8 
25.3 

36.5 
26.9 
36.6 

60.3 
18.9 
20.8 

37.3 
29.9 
32.7 

|6  to  S6.99 

$7  and  over 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

CUTTERS. 

The  occupation  of  cutter  is  one  of  the  most  skilled  and  most 
responsible  in  the  industry.  Upon  the  cutter  depends  not  only  the 
fit  and  appearance  of  the  garment,  but,  also,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
the  cost  of  it.  An  error  made  by  the  cutter  may  result  in  the  partial 
or  total  damage  of  the  goods  cut.  Apart  from  that,  a  slight  error 
or  failure  to  cut  the  goods  to  the  exact  size  required,  sometimes 
within  a  fraction  of  an  inch,  or  the  notching  of  the  cloth  a  fraction  of 
an  inch  out  of  the  way,  may  cause  the  operators  endless  trouble  in  the 
sewing  together  of  the  different  pieces  and  result  in  the  necessity  of 
ripping  the  work  already  done  and  the  duplication  of  the  work  on 
the  part  of  the  operators  as  well  as  of  the  cutters.  In  a  shop  in 
which  operators  are  paid  by  the  week  this  may  entail  a  very  serious 
loss  to  the  manufacturer.  In  those  in  which  the  work  is  done  by  the 
piece  this  may  likewise  be  the  case,  if  the  blame  can  be  clearly  placed 
on  the  cutter,  for  in  that  case  the  pieceworkers  would  be  entitled  to 
pay  on  the  spoiled  garments.  It  happens  very  frequently,  however, 
that  the  cutting  or  notching,  while  not  distinctly  wrong,  is  done  in 
so  careless  or  crude  a  fashion  as  to  cause  much  trouble  without  com- 
pensation for  loss  of  time  to  the  operator  working  by  the  piece. 

The  skill  of  the  cutter  also  affects  the  cost  of  the  garment  so  far  as 
the  ability  of  the  cutter  to  lay  out  his  pattern  economically  is  con- 
cerned ;  a  cutter  who  is  thoroughly  familiar  with  his  work  will  know 
how  to  lay  out  his  pattern  on  the  cloth  in  such  a  way  as  to  utilize 
every  available  part  of  the  cloth  and  reduce  waste  to  a  minimum;  a 
less  skilled  cutter  will  waste  a  great  deal  of  the  cloth,  being  unable  to 
utilize  comparatively  large  pieces  of  cloth.  This  may  account  for 
the  seemingly  long  period  of  apprenticeship  which  the  cutters'  union 
requires  before  admitting  a  worker  to  the  class  of  full-fledged  cutters. 
It  is  the  only  trade  in  the  industry  for  which  the  protocol  has  pro- 
vided a  graduated  scale  of  compensation. 

Under  the  protocol  cutters  are  divided  into  full-fledged  cutters 
and  apprentices.  The  apprentices  are  divided  into  three  grades, 


110 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


thus  making  four  grades  in  all.     The  three  grades  of  apprentices 
known  as:  Grade  A,  to  which  are  admitted  apprentices  of  less  thj 
one  year's  standing;  grade  B,  which  includes  apprentices  of  mo] 
than  one  year  and  less  than  two  years'  standing;  and  grade  C,  coi 
sisting  of  apprentices  of  more  than  two  years'  and  less  than  thn 
years'  tune.     The  protocol  provides  that  on  or  about  the  15th  da] 
of  June  and  November  in  each  year  the  cutters'  union,  known 
Local  No.  10,  shall  hold  an  examination  for  the  purpose  of  admitti] 
apprentices  of  grade  C  to   the  class  of  full-fledged  cutters.     Th< 
protocol  also  provides  that  "  after  January  1,  1914,  the  followiii| 
rule  shall  be  adopted:  In  each  shop  there  shall  be  not  more  than  on< 
apprentice  for  each  five  cutters  employed,  but  in  case  there  shall 
less  than  five  cutters  employed  one  apprentice  may  be  employed." 
It  also  provides  that  "at  least  one  cutter  shall  be  employed  in  th< 
shops  of  members  of  the  association. " 

The  method  of  cutting  the  goods  varies  with  the  character  of  th< 
garments  manufactured  in  the  industry.     In  shops  manufacture 
high-grade  dresses  and  gowns  of  silk  in  which  one  garment  is  rriad< 
at  a  time  the  cutter  may  cut  only  one  or  a  very  few  garments  of  th< 
same  style  and  uses  shears  for  that  purpose.     Where  cheaper  garmenl 
are  manufactured,  a  knife  or  a  cutting  machine  is  employed  insteac 
of  shears.     This  is  done  to  enable  the   cutter  to  cut  as  many 
400  garments  at  once.     It  is  done  by  stretching  out  bolts  of  materi* 
on  a  long  table,  placing  one  layer  on  top  of  another  until  the  nee  ess i 
thickness  has  been  reached.     The  number  of  layers  or  thicknesses  oi 
cloth  depends  on  the  character  of  the  material  and  on  the  size  of  th< 
order.     In  shops  making  a  medium  grade  and  a  high  grade  of  gi 
ments  where  no  stock  is  ever  made  up  the  amount  cut  will  depeni 
entirely  on  the  size  of  the  order  received,  while  in  shops  manufactuj 
ing  cheaper  waists  and  dresses  made  of  lingerie  and  other  light  cotto] 
material,  for  which  orders  are  usually  received  in  large  quantitie 
and  where  there  is  no  hesitation  in  making  up  garments  in  excess  oi 
the  order  so  as  to  have  stock  in  readiness,  the  cloth  is  piled  high 
the  limit  of  the  capacity  of  the  knife  and  to  the  limit  of  the  ability  oi 
the  cutter  to  do  his  work  without  damage  to  the  goods. 

In  the  case  of  lawns,  about  20  or  22  dozen  layers  are  stretch( 
one  on  top  of  the  other  and  cut  with  a  long  knife  or  machine.     Whei 
lingerie,  cotton  voile,  and  similar  light  cottons  are  used,  the  numbc 
of  layers  may  reach  about  300.     In  heavy  linens  about  four  dozei 
sometimes   eight   dozen,  layers   are   cut.     In   ratines,  six   to  eight 
dozen  is  the  largest  number.     In  case  of  silks,   a   short  knife 
used  because  the  number  of  layers  that  can  be  cut  at  once  is  mu< 
smaller  than  in  cotton.     This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  silk  being  ver< 
slippery  and  very  light,  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  for  the  cutter  t< 
keep  the  layers  in  a  fixed,  steady  position.     The  highest  number  oi 


WAGES   AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.     Ill 

layers  cut  at  one  time  does  not  exceed  90  when  a  cutting  machine  is 
employed  and  40  if  a  short  knife  is  used.  The  long  knife  is  never  used 
on  silks. 

Woolen  goods  are  easier  to  handle  than  silks,  but  not  so  easy  to  cut 
as  cotton.  The  cutting  machine  is  usually  employed  in  cutting  out 
the  cloth.  In  the  case  of  heavy  woolen  cloths,  about  60  layers  are 
usually  regarded  as  the  maximum.  For  light  serges  and  worsteds, 
as  many  as  96  layers  are  cut  at  a  time. 

In  large  shops,  where  more  than  one  cutter, is  employed,  there  is 
more  or  less  division  of  labor.  The  assistants  or  apprentices  do  the 
stretching  of  the  cloth,  other  cutters  do  the  cutting,  while  the  most 
responsible  work,  namely,  the  marking  of  the  outline  of  the  pattern 
on  the  top  layer  of  the  cloth  is  done  by  the  most  experienced  cutter, 
who  is  also  called  the  marker. 

The  apprenticing  of  a  cutter. — During  the  first  year  (grade  A),  the 
cutter's  apprentice  is  taught  how  to  stretch  the  cloth,  preparing  it  for 
the  marker  and  the  cutter.  He  is  also  taught  to  cut  out  small  parts 
such  as  cuffs  and  other  odd  parts  with  a  short  knife.  An  opportunity 
is  also  given  him  to  cut  "repairs";  that  is,  to  correct  outlines  in  gar- 
ments which  through  an  error  of  the  cutter  or  the  operator  have  to  be 
repaired.  The  repair  cutting  is  done  with  shears  on  single  garments. 

During  the  second  year  (grade  B)  the  apprentice  gradually  learns 
to  do  more  and  more  cutting.  He  assists  the  cutter  in  cutting  out 
those  parts  which  do  not  have  to  be  cut  to  the  exact  size  but  merely 
in  rough  outline.  These  are  parts  that  are  cut  much  larger  than  the 
final  size  in  order  to  allow  for  plaits,  tucks,  etc.,  and  which  are  later 
1  'sloped"  to  the  right  size.  He  is  also  given  smaller  parts  to  cut  and 
odd  parts  like  strips  for  tucking,  binding,  etc. 

Sloping. — The  grade  B  cutter  also  does  the  sloping  which  consists 
in  cutting  down  parts  of  the  garment  such  as  a  front  or  back  of  a  waist 
to  the  exact  size  after  the  plaits,  tucks,  or  insertions  have  been  put  in 
by  the  operator. 

During  the  third  year  (grade  C),  the  apprentice  assists  in  laying  out 
the  patterns  and  marking  out  the  lays.  He  also  does  the  general 
cutting  under  the  supervision  of  the  cutter.  After  the  third  year, 
upon  passing  an  examination,  he  is  admitted  to  the  standing  of  a  full- 
fledged  cutter. 

SEX. 

Only  men  are  employed  in  cutting.  In  some  shops,  however, 
women  are  employed  as  slopers.  As  will  be  seen  from  Table  8  only 
6  women  slopers  were  found  employed  in  the  520  shops  under  investi- 
gation. It  will  also  be  seen  from  the  same  table  that  there  were  13 
male  slopers.  This  does  not  mean  that  there  were  only  13  men  slopers 
in  the  industry;  the  other  slopers  were  in  ah1  probability  entered  on 
the  pay  roUs  as  cutters. 


112  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

WAGES. 

Information  was  obtained  as  to  1,701  cutters  in  1913  and  1,397  in 
1912.  All  of  these  were  paid  by  the  week.  As  will  be  seen  from 
Table  51,  they  were  distributed  among  the  four  branches  of  the  indus- 
try as  follows:  Association  A  (lower-grade  garments)  830;  nonassocia- 
tion  A;  213;  association  B,  560;  nonassociation  B,  61,  making  a  total 
of  1,664.  For  the  remaining  37  cutters  no  information  was  obtainable 
as  to  their  weekly  rates  of  wages,  but  merely  of  their  total  earning 
during  the  busiest  week. 

Over  67  per  cent  or  two-thirds  of  all  the  cutters  in  1913  were  in 
those  groups  which  included  the  protocol  rates  of  $6,  $12,  $18, 
and  over.  In  1912  less  than  38  per  cent  of  all  the  cutters  receive 
these  rates.  The  proportion  of  cutters  receiving  these  rates  in  the 
different  branches  of  the  industry  was  as  follows:  Association  B, 
nearly  78  per  cent;  nonassociation  B,  over  72  per  cent;  association  A, 
over  62  percent;  nonassociation  A,  over  56  per  cent.  It  will  be  seen 
from  these  figures  that  the  enforcement  of  the  protocol  rates  does 
not  depend  so  much  on  whether  the  shops  belong  to  members  of  the 
association  or  to  nonmembers  as  on  the  grade  of  garments  manu- 
factured in  the  various  shops.  The  higher  the  grade,  the  greater 
the  skill  of  the  cutter  required,  the  higher  the  pay  he  can  command, 
and  the  greater,  therefore,  the  proportion  of  those  receiving  protocol 
rates.  On  the  other  hand,  the  detailed  comparison  of  rates  prevail- 
ing in  association  and  nonassociation  shops  of  the  same  grade  which 
follows,  indicates  that  in  some  cases  the  association  shops  make  a 
better  showing,  while  in  other  cases  it  is  the  nonassociation  shops. 

Comparing  the  figures  in  Table  51  showing  the  proportion  of  workers 
receiving  different  rates  of  wages  in  association  and  nonassociation  A 
shops  (those  manufacturing  lower-grade  garments),  we  find  a  higher 
percentage  of  cutters  receiving  $25  a  week  and  over  in  the  nonassocia- 
tion shops  than  in  the  association  shops  and  a  lower  percentage  of 
cutters  receiving  under  $25  a  week.  Thus,  the  number  of  cutters  re- 
ceiving $6  and  less  than  $7  a  week  constituted  more  than  5  per  cent 
of  all  the  cutters  in  the  association  A  shops  and  more  than  3  per  cent 
in  the  nonassociation  A  shops.  Those  getting  $12  and  less  than  $14 
a  week  were  nearly  11  per  cent  of  the  total  in  the  association  shops 
and  nearly  10  per  cent  in  the  nonassociation  shops.  Those  getting 
$18  and  less  than  $20  a  week  constituted  nearly  14  per  cent  in  the 
association  and  8.5  per  cent  in  the  nonassociation  shops,  and  those 
getting  $25  and  less  than  $27.50  were  almost  28  per  cent  in  the  asso- 
ciation and  over  32  per  cent  in  the  nonassociation  shops. 

The  contrary  is  true  of  the  B  shops  (those  manufacturing  the 
higher-grade  garments).  Thus  the  proportion  of  cutters  receiving 
the  highest  protocol  rate  ($25)  and  over  was  64  per  cent  in  the  asso- 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT  IN   DKESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.     113 

elation  B  shops  and  only  a  little  over  49  per  cent  in  the  nonassociation 
B  shops.     On  the  other  hand,  in  the  groups  including  two  of  the 
:  protocol  rates  under  $25  ($18  and  $12)  the  nonassociation  shops  had 
;  a  higher  percentage  of  cutters  than  the  association  shops.     Thus,  in 
I  the  group  $18  to  $19.99  were  found  13.1  per  cent  of  the  cutters  in 
nonassociation  B  shops  as  against  7.4  per  cent  of  those  in  association 
B  shops  and  in  the  group  $12  to  $13.99  were  found  9.8  per  cent  of  the 
cutters  in  nonassociation  shops  as  against  4.6  per  cent  of  those  in 
association  shops.     In  the  group  $6  to  $6.99,  that  is,  the  group  con- 
taining the  lowest  protocol  rate  ($6),  there  were  only  11  cutters  in 
the  association  B  shops  and  none  in  the  nonassociation  B  shops. 
In  fact,  there  were  no  cutters  in  the  nonassociation  B  shops  receiv- 
ing under  $8,  while  in  the  association  B  shops  nearly  5  per  cent  of  all 
the  cutters  received  $4  and  less  than  $8  a  week. 

A  comparison  of  Table  51  and  Chart  10,  showing  the  rates  for  cut- 
ters, with  Tables  50,  52,  54,  and  55,  and  Charts  9,  11,  12,  and  13, 
representing  the  wages  of  cleaners,  drapers,  examiners,  and  finishers, 
respectively,  shows  the  striking  effect  of  providing  only  one  rate 
of  wages,  as  has  been  done  in  the  protocol  for  those  occupations  and 
four  different  rates  as  is  the  case  with  the  cutters.  In  the  trades 
mentioned  there  is  always  only  one  high  peak  showing  that  the 
largest  single  group  of  workers  is  the  group  receiving  the  minimum 
protocol  rate,  while  in  the  case  of  the  cutters  there  are  four  distinct 
peaks  showing  that  wages  tend  to  concentrate  at  the  rates  provided 
in  the  protocol. 

Table  51  shows  the  difference  in  the  wages  paid  in  the  two  classes 
of  association  shops,  A  and  B.  In  the  higher-grade  (B)  shops  the 
proportion  of  cutters  receiving  $25  a  week  and  under  $27.50  rises  to 
56.2  per  cent,  while  for  the  line  representing  the  lower-grade  (A)  shops 
it  goes  up  only  to  27.8  per  cent.  In  the  lower  wage  groups,  the  rela- 
tive position  of  the  percentages  is  reversed,  that  is  to  say,  the  pro- 
portion of  cutters  in  the  group  receiving  $18,  $12,  and  $6  a  week, 
as  well  as  of  those  receiving  the  intermediate  rates  not  fixed  in  the 
protocol,  is  in  every  case  higher  in  the  lower-grade  shops  than  in  the 
higher-grade  shops. 

Wages  in  1912  and  1913. — Table  51  throws  an  interesting  light  on 
the  changes  which  have  occurred  in  the  wages  of  the  cutters  since  the 
protocol  has  gone  into  effect.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  last  two 
columns  in  the  table,  the  percentage  of  those  receiving  the  lower  rates 
of  wages  has  uniformly  declined,  while  the  proportion  of  those 
receiving  $25  a  week  and  over  has  increased  from  less  than  19  per 
cent  of  all  the  cutters  in  1912  to  44  per  cent  in  1913. 

This  fact  is  shown  even  more  strikingly  when  we  look  at  the  abso 
lute  numbers  of  cutters  receiving  different  rates  of  wages  as  shown  in 
Table  51,  for  we  find  an  increase  in  the  number  of  workers  receiving 
42132°— Bull.  146—14 8 


114 


BULLETIN   OF    THE   BUREAU    OP    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


protocol  rates  of  wages  and  a  decline  in  the  number  of  those  receiving 
less  than  the  protocol  rates,  in  spite  of  the  increase  of  the  total  number 
of  cutters  from  1,328  in  1912  to  1,664  in  1913.  Thus,  the  number  of 
those  receiving  $6  and  less  than  $7  a  week  increased  from  36  in  1912 
to  63  in  1913,  while  the  number  of  those  receiving  under  $6  declined 
from  27  to  20.  The  number  of  cutters  receiving  $12  and  less  than  $14 
a  week  increased  from  113  to  142,  while  the  number  of  those  receiving 
$7  and  less  than  $12  a  week  declined  from  210  to  165.  The  number 
of  those  receiving  $18  and  less  than  $20  a  week  increased  from  117 
in  1912  to  182  in  1913,  while  those  receiving  $14  and  less  than  $18  a 
week  declined  from  223  to  196.  Finally,  the  number  of  those  receiv- 
ing $25  a  week  and  over  increased  from  250  in  1912  to  731  in  1913, 
while  those  receiving  $20  and  less  than  $25  declined  from  352  to  165. 

The  changes  in  the  rates  of  wages  paid  to  cutters  since  the  protocol 
went  into  effect  are  shown  in  Chart  10,  in  which  the  broken  line  repre- 
sents the  wages  in  1912  and  the  solid  line  those  for  1913.  The  great 
rise  in  the  number  of  those  in  the  group  receiving  $25  a  week  is  the 
most  conspicuous  feature  on  that  chart.  The  smaller  increase  in  the 
number  of  those  in  the  groups  receiving  $18  and  $6  a  week  and  the 
decline  in  the  number  of  those  receiving  the  intermediate  rates  is 
likewise  clearly  shown. 

TABLE  51.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  CUTTERS,  WEEK  WORKERS,  RECEIVING  EACH 
CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
-A. 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

$3  to  $3  99. 

1 
3 
9 
21 
24 
25 
24 
65 
68 
72 
57 
63 
115 
28 
53 
3 
29 

1 
3 
4 
45 

27 
20 
25 
37 
89 
67 
39 
115 
67 
22 
230 
7 
32 

1 
1 
2 
7 
4 
6 
5 
13 
16 
12 
9 
11 
17 
2 
9 
2 
4 

2 
8 
17 
36 
35 
41 
40 
94 
113 
117 
106 
117 
254 
98 
180 
8 
62 

1 
9 
10 
63 
41 
29 
37 
58 
142 
123 
73 
182 
123 
42 
635 
18 
78 

$4  to  $4.99  

3 
2 
7 
4 
6 
4 
10 
21 
25 
16 
18 
18 
5 
69 
1 
4 

4 
6 
8 
6 
9 
10 
16 
28 
30 
37 
33 
118 
64 
114 
3 
24 

3 
4 
11 
10 
2 
5 
10 
26 
28 
17 
41 
33 
12 
314 
8 
36 

$5  to  $5.99 

$6  to  $6.99  

$7  to  $7.99 

1 
1 
1 

$8  to  $8.99  

1 

3 
1 
6 
3 
1 
8 
5 
3 
22 
2 
6 

$9  to  $9.99. 

$10  to  $11.99  
$12  to  $13.99  
$14  to  $15.99  

1 
3 
3 
10 
4 
4 
4 

$16  to  $17.99. 

$18  to  $19  99 

$20  to  $22.  49.. 

$22.50  to  $24.99  
$25  to  $27.49.   . 

$27.50  to  $29.99  
$30  and  over  

5 

Total 

660 

830 

121 

213 

510 

560 

37 

61 

i  1,328 

»  1,664 

1  Not  including  69,  for  whom  weekly  rates  could  not  be  ascertained. 
8  Not  including  37,  for  whom  weekly  rates  could  not  be  ascertained. 


WAGES   AND  EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.      115 


TABLE  51.— NUMBER   AND   PER  CENT    OF  CUTTERS,  WEEK   WORKERS,   RECEIVING 
EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS— 

Concluded. 

PER  CENT. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

$3  to  S3  99. 

0.2 
.5 
1.4 
3.2 
3.6 
3.8 
3.6 
9.9 
10.3 
10.9 
8.6 
9.5 
17.4 
4.2 
8.0 
.5 
4.4 

0.1 
.4 
.5 
5.4 
3.3 
2.4 
3.0 
4.5 
10.7 
8.1 
4.7 
13.9 
8.1 
2.7 
27.7 
.8 
3.9 

0.8 
.8 
1.7 
5.8 
3.3 
5.0 
4.1 
10.7 
13.2 
9.9 
7.4 
9.1 
14.1 
1.7 
7.4 
1.7 
3.3 

0.2 
.6 
1.3 
2.7 
2.6 
3.1 
3.0 
7.1 
8.5 
8.8 
8.0 
8.8 
19.1 
7.3 
13.6 
.6 
4.6 

0.1 
.5 
.6 
3.8 
2.5 
1.7 
2.2 
3.5 
8.5 
7.4 
4.4 
10.9 
7.4 
2.5 
38.2 
I.I 
4.7 

|4  to  $4  99 

1.4 
.9 
3.3 
1.9 
2.8 
1.9 
4.7 
9.8 
11.7 
7.5 
8.5 
8.5 
2.3 
32.4 
.5 
1.9 

0.8 
1.2 
1.6 
1.2 
1.8 
2.0 
3.1 
5.5 
5.9 
7.3 
6.5 
23.1 
12.5 
22.3 
.6 
4.7 

0.5 
.7 
1.9 
1.8 
.4 
.9 
1.8 
4.6 
5.0 
3.0 
7.4 
5.9 
2.1 
56.1 
1.4 
6.4 

$5  to  So  99. 

$6  to  $6  99 

$7  to  $7.99  

2.7 
2.7 
2.7 

$8  to  88  99 

1.6 
4.9 
1.6 
9.8 
4.9 
1.6 
13.1 
8.2 
4.9 
36.1 
3.3 
9.8 

$9  to  39.99  

$10  to  $11  99 

$12  to  $13.  99  
$14  to  115  99..       .   . 

2.7 
8.1 
8.1 
27.1 
10.8 
10.8 
10.8 

"'ii's' 

$16  to  $  17  99 

$18  to  819  99  

$20  to  $22  49 

$22.50  to  $24.99  
$25  to  $27.  49  

$27.50  to  $29.99  
$30  and  over 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

DRAPERS. 

Draping  is  one  of  the  most  skilled  occupations  in  the  trade  in  con- 
nection with  the  making  of  dresses  and  waists.  Most  of  the  drapers 
graduate  into  that  class  of  work  after  having  worked  as  dressmakers 
or  examiners. 

The  drapers  are  roughly  divided  into  two  classes,  those  working 
'on  comparatively  simple  dresses  and  waists,  and  the  high-grade 
dressmaker  drapers.  A  lower-grade  draper  through  practice  and 
years  of  experience  gradually  works  up  to  the  higher  grades.  To  do 
this  she  must  have,  however,  a  native  taste  for  the  beautiful  in  dress. 
The  lower-grade  drapers  usually  confine  their  attention  to  the  simple 
draping  of  waists,  which  consists  in  arranging  the  plaits,  joining  the 
skirt  to  the  waist  with  the  aid  of  pins,  seeing  that  the  skirt  hangs  prop- 
erly from  the  waistline,  and  draping  the  skirt.  Drapers  of  this  class 
are  usually  promoted  to  this  work  after  they  have  been  working  as 
examiners  or  as  plain  dressmakers.  They  receive  about  $14  a  week. 

The  high-grade  draper  or  dressmaker  draper,  as  she  is  sometimes 
called,  works  on  high-class  dresses  and  gowns.  In  many  cases  she 
makes  practically  the  whole  dress.  After  taking  the  cloth  as  it  comes 
from  the  cutter,  she  joins  the  different  pieces  of  cloth  and,  fixing 
them  by  means  of  pins,  she  drapes  the  cloth  around  the  figure  in 
graceful  folds,  sewing  together  with  the  needle  the  different  parts 
where  necessary.  In  many  such  cases  there  is  but  little  work  left 
for  the  operator  to  do  after  the  draper  removes  the  garment  from  the 
figure,  most  of  the  remaining  work  being  done  by  hand  by  the  fin- 
isher. Drapers  of  this  class  get  all  the  way  from  $14  to  $20  a  week, 
although  but  few  get  more  than  $18. 


116 


BULLETIN   OF    THE   BUREAU    OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


3 


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tf 

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s 

w 

3 

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£ 

M 
W 


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WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.      117 

SEX. 

Women  are  employed  almost  exclusively  in  this  work.  As  will 
be  seen  from  Table  8,  out  of  1,321  drapers  for  whom  wages  were  found 
on  the  pay  rolls  in  1913,  1,315  were  women  and  only  6  were  men. 

WAGES. 

Draping  is  done  almost  entirely  on  a  week  basis.  The  protocol 
recognizes  this  fact  by  providing  a  weekly  rate  of  wages  which  is  fixed 
at  a  minimum  of  $14.  Out  of  1,321  drapers  (Table  11),  1,273,  or  96 
per  cent  of  all  the  drapers,  were  found  working  by  the  week  and  only 
48,  or  4  per  cent,  were  pieceworkers. 

Table  52  gives  the  wages  of  drapers  in  1912  and  1913  in  each  of  the 
four  branches  of  the  industry  as  well  as  for  the  industry  as  a  whole, 
and  also  the  percentage  of  the  workers  receiving  various  rates  of 
wages.  Of  the  1,259  drapers  for  whom  weekly  rates  of  wages  were 
obtained,  1,058,  or  84  per  cent,  worked  in  association  shops  and  only 
201,  or  16  per  cent,  were  found  employed  in  nonassociation  shops. 

Taking  the  minimum  rate  of  wages  as  fixed  in  the  protocol,  $14, 
we  find  that  in  association  shops  producing  low-grade  garments  (A), 
nearly  49  per  cent  of  all  the  workers  were  in  the  wage  group  including 
this  rate  and  in  the  corresponding  nonassociation  shops  over  47  per 
cent,  or  practically  the  same  proportion.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the 
high-grade  shops  (B)  belonging  to  the  association  nearly  57  per  cent 
were  in  the  group  receiving  the  minimum  protocol  rate,  while  in 
the  corresponding  nonassociation  shops  only  about  35  per  cent  were 
in  the  group  receiving  the  minimum  rate.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind,  however,  that  the  percentages  just  quoted  include  not  only 
those  receiving  $14  a  week  but  also  those  receiving  from  $14  to 
$15.99,  although  the  great  majority  of  them  were  receiving  $14. 
Taking  those  receiving  $16  and  over  a  week,  we  find  that  in  the  high- 
grade  (B)  association  shops  less  than  15  per  cent  belong  to  that  class, 
while  in  the  high-grade  nonassociation  shops  the  percentage  was 
practically  the  same,  namely,  over  16.  In  the  shops  manufacturing 
lower-grade  garments  (A),  the  proportion  of  drapers  receiving  $16 
a  week  and  over  was  over  10  per  cent  in  the  association  and  12.5  per 
cent  in  the  nonassociation  shops. 

As  will  be  seen  from  Table  52,  the  largest  group  after  the  $14  to 
$15.99  was  that  of  drapers  receiving  from  $12  to  $13.99  a  week,  which 
constituted  25.5  per  cent  of  all  the  drapers  employed  in  the  associa- 
tion (A)  shops  (manufacturing  low-grade  garments)  and  over  18  per 
cent  in  the  corresponding  nonassociation  shops,  while  in  the  B  shops 
it  constituted  more  than  20  per  cent  in  the  association  branch  and 
nearly  37  per  cent  in  the  nonassociation.  A  comparatively  large 
proportion  of  drapers  receiving  $12  a  week  and  less  than  $14,  as  well 
as  the  drapers  receiving  under  $12  a  week,  consist  of  the  lower-grade 


118  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR  STATISTICS. 

drapers  and  those  whom  the  manufacturers  regard  more  or  less  as 
apprentices  in  this  kind  of  work.  A  personal  investigation  after  the 
figures  were  compiled  has  also  disclosed  the  fact  that  in  some  shops 
little  or  no  distinction  is  made  between  joiners  and  drapers;  sometimes 
those  who  do  joining  work  are  called  drapers  and  are  paid  the  wages 
of  joiners,  while  in  other  shops  workers  who  do  real  drapi-ng  are  called 
joiners. 

An  examination  of  Table  52  shows  that  association  shops  manufac- 
turing high-grade  (B)  and  low-grade  (A)  goods  employed  84  per  cent 
of  all  the  drapers  in  the  industry.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  table,  the 
group  of  $14  to  $15.99  workers  is  the  largest  of  all,  reaching  nearly  57 
per  cent  in  the  association  B  shops  and  nearly  49  per  cent  in  the  A 
shops.  Below  the  $14  rate  it  will  be  seen  that  the  A  shops  in  every 
wage  group  have  a  higher  percentage  than  the  B  shops.  That  is  to 
say,  the  proportion  of  workers  receiving  $5  and  less  than  $14  a  week 
is  greater  in  the  low-grade  shops  than  in  the  high  grade.  At  $14  and 
over  the  relative  position  is  reversed. 

Still  more  interesting  is  a  consideration  of  the  changes  in.  the  wages 
of  all  drapers  since  the  adoption  of  the  protocol  shown  in  the  last  two 
columns  of  Table  52  and  also  in  graphic  form  in  Chart  11.  The  most 
conspicuous  fact  is  the  high  peak  representing  the  $14  to  $15.99  group 
for  1913,  at  over  51  per  cent,  while  in  1912  this  group  is  less  than  33  per 
cent.  In  1912,  the  percentage  of  workers  receiving  $12  and  less  than 
$14  a  week  was  almost  as  high  as  that  of  those  receiving  $14  and  less 
than  $16,  while  in  1913,  the  $12  to  $13.99  group  was  only  about  23 
per  cent,  or  10  points  below  the  1912  line.  The  shifting  that  has 
occurred  in  the  industry  by  way  of  the  increase  of  the  compensation 
to  drapers  is  shown  very  clearly  in  this  table  and  chart.  For  wage 
groups  below  $14  the  percentages  in  1912  are  in  almost  all  cases 
above  those  for  1913,  while  at  $14  and  above  the  position  is  reversed, 
showing  that  in  every  wage  group  from  $14  to  $22.50  there  was  a 
greater  proportion  of  drapers  in  1913  than  in  1912. 

An  examination  of  the  summary  part  of  Table  52,  in  which  these 
facts  are  brought  out  not  only  for  the  industry  as  a  whole,  but  also  for 
the  different  branches  of  the  industry,  shows,  first,  for  the  industry 
as  a  whole,  that  the  number  of  drapers  receiving  under  $12  a  week 
declined  from  27.5  per  cent  in  1912  to  13  per  cent  in  1913.  Those 
getting  $12  and  less  than  $14  a  week  declined  from  32.6  per  cent  in 
1912  to  less  than  23  per  cent  in  1913.  This  makes  the  total  number 
of  drapers  receiving  less  than  the  minimum  protocol  rate  in  1913,  36 
per  cent  of  all  the  drapers.  On  the  other  hand,  those  getting  $14 
and  less  than  $16  increased  from  nearly  33  per  cent  in  1912  to  51.5 
per  cent,  or  more  than  half  of  the  entire  number  of  drapers,  in  1913, 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN  DEESS   AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY.     119 


and  those  getting  $16  arid  over  increased  from  7.1  per  cent  to  nearly 
13  per  cent. 

Taking  the  different  branches  of  the  industry,  we  find  that  the  B 
(high-grade)  shops  belonging  to  the  association  lead  all  the  others  in 
the  advance  in  wages  for  drapers,  the  proportion  of  those  getting  $14 
and  over  in  1913  being  71.3  per  cent,  or  nearly  three-fourths  of  all 

CHART  11.— PER  CENT  OF  DRAPERS  (WEEK  WORKERS)  RECEIVING  EACH 
CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913. 


$14 


$:6 


$20 


$22 


$24-          $26 


0% 


$28 


$4     $5     $6     $7     $3     $9     $10  $12 


the  drapers  employed  in  those  shops,  as  against  46.3  per  cent  during 
the  preceding  year.  In  the  lower-grade  association  shops  the  per- 
centage of  those  receiving  $14  and  over  was  58.9  per  cent  as  com- 
pared with  36.1  per  cent  the  year  before,  and 'in  tne  corresponding 
nonassociation  shops  it  was  59.9  per  cent,  as  compared  with  26  per 
cent  the  year  before. 


120 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 


TABLE  52.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  DRAPERS,  WEEK  WORKERS,  1  RECEIVING  EACH 
CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 
B.* 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

$3  to  $3  99 

$4  to  $4  99 

1 
2 
3 
13 
13 
19 
67 
132 
121 
16 
3 

1 

2 
4 
5 
13 
10 
45 
131 
251 
46 
2 
4 

2 

3 
3 
5 
24 
32 
42 
148 
303 
305 
50 
11 
4 

1 

4 
8 
10 
23 
18 
100 
288 
648 
131 
18 
9 

$5  to  $5  99 

1 
1 
...... 

1 
13 

30 
15 
2 

2 
4 
2 
5 
3 
17 
28 
72 
17 
2 

$6  to  $6  99 

"'9' 
14 
21 

61 
128 
163 
28 
8 
3 

"~2~ 
5 
5 
33 
111 
308 
62 
12 
5 

2 
2 
1 
7 
13 
6 
4 

..... 

$7  to  $7.99  

$8  to  $S  99 

$9  to  $9.  99  

..„. 

18 
17 
6 
2 

$10  to  $11  99    ... 

$12  to  $13  99 

$14  to  $15.99  

$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19  99 

j9Q  to  $°2  49 

$^2  50  to  $°4  99 

$95  to  $97  49 

1 

1 

1 

1 

Total  

391 

514 

66 

152 

438 

544 

36 

49 

»931 

*  1,259 

PER  CENT. 


Under  $3 

$3  to  $3  99 

$4to$4.99  

0.2 

0.2 

0.5 

0.3 

0.1 

$5  to  $5  99 

.5 

.4 

1.5 

1.3 

3 

3 

$3  to  $5.99  

.8 

.8 

1.5 

2.6 

.5 

.6 

$7  to  $7  99 

3.3 

1.0 

1.3 

2.1 

0.4 

2.6 

.8 

$8  to  $3  99 

3  3 

2  5 

4  6 

3  3 

3  2 

.9 

3  4 

1  8 

$9  to  $3  99  

4.9 

1.9 

1.5 

2.0 

4.8 

.9 

4.5 

1.4 

$10  to  $11  99 

17.1 

8.7 

19  7 

11.2 

13.9 

6.1 

15  9 

8  0 

$12  to  $13.  99  

33.8 

25.5 

45.5 

18.4 

29.2 

20.4 

32.6 

22.9 

$14  to  $15  99 

31.0 

48.8 

22.7 

47.4 

37.2 

56.6 

32.8 

51.5 

$18  to  $17  99 

4.1 

9  0 

3  0 

11  2 

6  4 

11  4 

5  4 

10  4 

$18  to  $19.99  

.8 

.4 

1.3 

1.8 

2.2 

1.4 

$20  to  $22  49 

.2 

.8 

.7 

.9 

.4 

.7 

$22  50  to  $94  99 

$25  to  $27.49  

.2 

.2 

.1 

.1 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

SUMMARY  OF  PERCENTAGES. 


Under  $12 

30  1 

15  6 

28  8 

21  7 

24  5 

8  3 

27  5 

13  0 

$12  to  $13.99  

33.8 

25.5 

45.5 

18.4 

29.2 

20.4 

32.6 

22.9 

$14  to  $15.99  

31.0 

48.8 

22.7 

47.4 

37  2 

56  6 

32  8 

51  5 

$16  and  over 

5  1 

10  1 

3  0 

12  5 

9  1 

14  7 

7  1 

12  6 

Total..  

100.0 

100.0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

1  In  addition  to  the  week  workers  shown  in  this  table  there  were  26  pieceworkers  in  1912  and  48  in  1913. 

2  Percentages  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

*  Not  including  21  females,  1  male,  for  whom  weekly  rates  of  wac;es  could  not  be  ascertained. 
<  Not  including  9  females,  5  males,  for  whom  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  not  be  ascertained. 

EMBROIDERERS. 

The  work  of  embroiderers  is  too  well  known  to  need  any' explana- 
tion. The  embroiderers  for  whom  information  is  given  in  Table  8 
and  Table  53  are  all  handworkers  skilled  in  the  use  of  the  needle. 
The  majority  of  them  are  Italians.  The  skill  of  the  embroiderer 
calls  not  only  for  the  deft  use  of  the  needle,  but  for  keen  perception 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.      121 

of  colors  and  their  different  shadings,  since  colored  thread  is  used  to  a 
very  large  extent.  The  great  majority  of  the  embroiderers  working 
in  the  industry  come  with  their  skill  previously  acquired  in  their 
home  country.  There  is  an  increasing  number  of  embroiderers 
working  on  machines  in  some  of  the  dress  and  waist  making  shops, 
but  no  mention  of  them  appeared  on  the  pay  rolls  of  1913  and  there- 
fore they  are  not  included  in  these  tables. 

Only  184  embroiderers  were  found  mentioned  as  such  on  the  pay 
rolls  of  the  shops  investigated.  A  much  larger  number  are  actually 
employed  in  the  industry.  On  the  pay  rolls,  many  of  these  are  prob- 
ably described  as  finishers,  since  they  do  their  work  by  hand,  and  a 
great  many  are  not  mentioned  at  all,  because  the  embroidery  de- 
partment is  frequently  in  charge  of  a  subcontractor,  who  pays  his 
help  directly  and  is  compensated  by  the  firm  on  a  piece  basis. 

SEX. 

Only  1  man  was  found  among  the  184  embroiderers  covered  by 
this  report. 

WAGES. 

Of  the  184  embroiderers  reported  in  Table  11,  87,  or  a  little  less 
than  one-half,  were  paid  by  the  week,  and  97  were  paid  by  the  piece. 
In  1912  the  proportion  was  reversed,  more  than  half  being  paid  by 
the  week  and  74,  out  of  a  total  of  167,  being  paid  by  the  piece. 

The  184  embroiderers  were  distributed  as  follows  among  three 
branches  of  the  industry:  Association  A,  36;  association  B,  133;  non- 
association  B,  15.  From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  169,  or  more  than 
nine- tenths  of  all  the  embroiderers,  were  employed  in  association 
shops,  leaving  less  than  one-tenth  in  the  nonassociation  shops.  The 
number  being  very  small,  no  conclusions  can  be  safely  drawn  as  to 
the  wages  for  the  separate  branches  of  the  industry.  They  are, 
therefore,  analyzed  for  the  industry  as  a  whole. 

Wages  of  week  workers. — The  largest  single  group  of  week  workers 
were  those  getting  $8  a  week  and  less  than  $9.  These  constituted  more 
than  29  per  cent  of  all  the  week  workers.  Nearly  one-half  of  all  the 
week  workers  received  $9  and  less  than  $14  a  week.  Only  1  girl 
received  under  $6  a  week.  More  than  one-tenth  of  all  the  week 
workers  received  $6  and  less  than  $8  a  week. 

Earnings  of  pieceworkers. — Of  the  97  pieceworkers,  16.5  per  cent 
earned  under  $6  during  the  busiest  week  of  the  year.  Nearly  29  per 
cent  earned  $6  and  less  than  $9  a  week.  Over  42  per  cent,  or  a  little 
over  four-tenths  of  the  workers,  earned  $9  and  less  than  $14,  and 
more  than  12  per  cent,-  or  about  one-eighth,  earned  $14  and  less  than 
$18  a  week. 


122  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

Wages  in  1912  and  1913. — No  provision  has  teen  made  in  the  pro- 
tocol in  regard  to  the  wages  of  embroiderers.  So  far  as  the  week  work- 
ers are  concerned,  there  is  no  marked  change  in  the  rates  of  wages 
from  1912  to  1913,  with  the  exception  of  one  group,  namely,  those 
earning  $8  and  less  than  $9  a  week,  which  increased  from  over  17  per 
cent  in  1912  to  more  than  29  per  cent  in  1913.  The  total  number  of 
embroiderers  working  by  the  week  declined  from  95  in  1912  to  87  in 
1913,  showing  a  loss  of  8  workers.  On  the  other  hand,  the  number  of 
pieceworkers  increased  from  74  to  97,  an  increase  of  23  workers.  A 
dropping  off  is  noticeable  in  the  number  of  week  workers  receiving 
under  $8  a  week,  who  numbered  23  in  1912  and  only  11,  or  less  than 
one-half  of  the  former  number,  in  1913.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
number  of  those  receiving  $8  and  less  than  $9  increased  from  16  to 
25,  showing  a  gain  of  9,  which  may  account  for  most  of  the  decline 
in  the  lower  groups.  From  $9  and  over  there  is  also  a  decline  in 
every  group  except  those  getting  $14  and  less  than  $16  a  week  which 
may  be  accounted  for  by  their  passing  into  the  group  of  pieceworkers 
where  greater  earnings  are  possible. 

Earnings  of  pieceworkers  in  1912  and  1913. — The  proportion  of 
pieceworkers  earning  under  $6  during  the  busiest  week  of  the  year 
declined  from  20.2  per  cent  in  1912  to  16.5  per  cent  in  1913.  Those 
earning  $6  and  less  than  $9  a  week  formed  practically  the  same  pro- 
portion of  the  total  both  years,  namely,  29.8  per  cent  and  28.9  per 
cent,  respectively.  Those  earning  $9  and  less  than  $14  a  week  declined 
from  46  per  cent  in  1912  to  42.2  per  cent  in  1913,  while  those  earning 
$14  a  week  and  over  increased  from  4  per  cent  in  1912  to  12.4  per 
cent  in  1913. 

Summing  up  the  changes  in  the  wages  of  embroiderers,  it  may  be 
said  that  among  the  week  workers  the  number  of  those  receiving 
under  $8  a  week  declined;  those  receiving  $8  to  $8.99  increased 
perceptibly,  and  the  number  of  those  earning  $9  and  over  remained 
practically  the  same.  Among  pieceworkers,  while  no  radical  changes 
in  earnings  occurred,  there  was  a  general  tendency  upward. 


WAGES   AND  EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND  WAIST   INDUSTRY.      123 


TABLE  53 — NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OT"  EMBROIDERERS  (WEEK  WORKERS  AND 
PIECEWORKERS)  RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  OR  EARNINGS 
PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  SEX. 


Classified   rates   of 
wages  or  earnings 
per    week,    and 
classes  of  shops. 

Week  workers  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 
wages. 

Pieceworkers  earning  each  clas- 
sified amount  during  busiest 
week  of  year. 

Females. 

Males. 

Females. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3.  .  . 

8 
3 
2 
2 
4 
7 
11 
13 
15 
6 
2 

4 
1 
4 
10 

7 
11 
4 
17 
20 
5 
7 

10.8 
4.0 
2.7 
2.7 
5.4 
9.5 
14.9 
17.6 
20.3 
8.1 
2.7 

7.2 
4.1 
1.  1 
4.1 
10.3 
7.2 
11.4 
4.1 
17.5 
20.6 
5.2 
7.2 

$3  to  S3.  99 

$4  to  S4  99 

3 
2 

8 
10 
16 
17 
19 
11 
3 

3.2 
2.1 

8.6 
10.8 
17.2 
18.3 
20.5 
11.8 
3.2 

$5  toSo.99  

1 
2 
8 
25 
16 
15 
10 
6 
1 
1 

1.2 
2.3 
9.3 
29.1 
18.6 
17.4 
11.6 
6.9 
1.2 
1.2 

$6  to  $6  99. 

$7  to  $7.99  

$8toS8.99  

..... 

19  to  $9.99  

$10  to  111  99 

1 

$12  to  $13.99  
$14  toSIS  99 

..... 

$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19.99  

$20  to?22  49 

1 
1 

1.1 

1.1 

1 

1.3 

$22  50  to  $24  99 

$25  to  $27.49  
Total  

Association  A  
Association  B  
Nonassociation  A 

2 

1 

2.1 

1.2 

! 

93 

86 

100.0 

100.0 

2 

1             74 

97 

100.0 

100.0 

Workers  in  specified  classes  of  shops. 

8 
72 

6 
66 

1 

15 
53 
......  „ 

30 
66 

1 

Nonassociation  B  .  .  . 

13 

14 

1 

EXAMINERS. 

The  duty  of  an  examiner  consists  in  examining  the  garments  after 
they  have  been  completely  finished  by  the  workers.  There  are  two 
distinct  classes  of  examiners ;  first,  those  who  examine  the  garments 
on  a  figure;  second,  those  who  examine  the  garments  without  the 
use  of  a  figure.  The  former  are  the  examiners  of  higher-grade 
garments,  the  latter  of  the  cheap  and  medium  grades  of  waists. 
The  class  2  examiners  are  usually  promoted  from  among  the  more 
intelligent  and  capable  cleaners  and  finishers.  They  very  seldom 
get  more  than  $10  a  week,  which  is  the  minimum  rate  fixed  under 
the  protocol.  Those  among  this  class  of  examiners  who  show 
capacity  for  better  work  are  promoted  to  draping  at  which  they 
can  earn  higher  wages.  The  high-grade  examiners  are  engaged 
on  dresses  and  on  waists  selling  at  wholesale  for  $48  per  dozen  and 
over.  These  garments  have  to  be  put  on  a  figure  in  order  to  be 
examined.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  examiner  to  see  that  the  garment 
thoroughly  fits  the  figure  and  that  the  measurements  at  the  waist 
line  are  correct.  They  carefully  go  over  the  entire  garment  to  see 
that  the  sleeves  hang  right,  that  the  collar  fits  properly,  and  that  the 
laces  on  the  corresponding  sides  of  the  garment  " match";  in  other 


124  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

words,  that  the  garment  is  properly  made  as  to  fit,  measurement, 
and  " matching"  of  the  corresponding  parts  and  that  there  is  no 
flaw  in  the  work  of  the  different  workers  who  made  up  the  garment. 
Examiners  of  this  class  are  promoted  from  draping  and  dressmaking 
and  receive  all  the  way  from  $14  to  $19.99  a  week.     It  is  seldom 
that  they  are  promoted  to  any  other  occupation,  although  occasion 
ally  a  high-class  examiner,  in  changing  factories,  may  go  into  high 
class  draping.     Once  in  a  while  one  is  promoted  to  the  position  o 
forewoman. 

SEX. 

As  a  rule,  only  women  are  employed  as  examiners.  Among  th< 
852  examiners,  reported  in  1913,  there  were  only  10  men,  or  but  little 
over  1  per  cent  of  the  total. 

WAGES. 

Examiners  are  always  paid  by  the  week.  Of  the  790  womer 
examiners  (Table  54)  whose  weekly  rates  in  1913  could  be  ascertained 
the  largest  single  group  were  those  receiving  $10  and  less  than  $12 
a  week,  who  constituted  nearly  38  per  cent  of  the  total.  The  nex 
largest  group  were  those  getting  $12  and  less  than  $14,  who  consti 
tuted  almost  18  per  cent  of  the  total.  A  little  less  than  12  pe 
cent  received  $14  and  less  than  $16  a  week,  and  only  3.2  per  cen 
received-  $16  a  week  and  over.  Only  3  examiners  in  the  entire 
industry  were  found  receiving  $20  a  week  and  over.  The  numbe 
of  those  earning  less  than  the  minimum  protocol  rate  of  $10  a  wee! 
was  235,  or  nearly  30  per  cent  of  the  total  in  1913.  Sixteen  examin 
ers,  or  2  per  cent,  received  under  $6  per  week. 

Nearly  one-half  (370)  of  the  790  women  examiners  worked  in 
association  A  shops;  323  worked  in  association  B  shops,  leaving 
only  76  in  nonassociation  A  shops  and  21  in  nonassociation  B  shops 

A  comparison  of  the  earnings  of  the  women  workers  in  the  associa 
tion  A  and  nonassociation  A  shops  in  1913  shows  that  the  number  o 
those  receiving  $10  a  week  and  over  formed  a  larger  percentage  o 
the  total  in  the  nonassociation  shops  than  in  the  association  shops 
namely,  over  67  per  cent  as  against  nearly  62  per  cent.  This  is 
also  true  for  each  of  the  following  separate  groups:  $10  and  les 
than  $12,  $12  and  less  than  $14,  $14  and  less  than  $16,  $16  and  less 
than  $18.  In  the  case  of  those  earning  $8  and  less  than  $10,  th( 
percentage  is  likewise  larger  in  the  nonassociation  shops  as  com 
pared  with  the  association  shops,  being  25  per  cent  in  the  forme 
and  less  than  19  per  cent  in  the  latter.  Those  earning  under  $8  con 
stituted  nearly  8  per  cent  in  the  nonassociation  A  shops  and  nearly 
20  per  cent  in  the  association  shops  of  the  same  class. 

Comparing  the  A  and  B  association  shops,  the  percentage  o 
those  earning  $12  a  week  and  over  is  found  to  be  larger  in  the  B 
shops  (those  manufacturing  the  higher  grade  garments),  while  o 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.     125 


I  those  receiving  under  $12  a  week  there  is  a  larger  percentage  in  the 
A  shops.  This  is  easily  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  B  shops 
require  examiners  of  greater  skill,  who  naturally  command  higher 
wages  entirely  apart  from  the  protocol  provision  which  specifies  only 
the  minimum  rate.  The  difference  in  the  compensation  of  examiners 
in  the  A  and  B  shops  can  be  clearly  seen  by  reference  to  Table  54. 
Both  groups  rise  to  a  high  point  in  the  class  of  $10  to  $11.99  a  week 
workers,  which  includes  the  minimum  protocol  rate  of  $10,  the 
!  percentage  of  those  getting  the  minimum  rate  being  higher  in  the 
lower-grade  shops  than  in  the  higher-grade.  Above  this  rate,  the 
group  percentages  in  the  high-grade  shops  are  in  each  case  higher 
than  those  in  the  lower-grade  shops,  while  in  the  group  below  $9  a 
week  the  reverse  is  true. 

Comparison  of  wages  in  1912  and  1913. — A  glance  at  Table  54  and 
Chart  12  will  show  a  uniform  improvement  in  the  earnings  of  examiners 
which  has  taken  place  since  the  protocol  went  into  effect.  Although 
during  both  years  the  $10  to  $11.99  group  forms  the  highest  peak, 
it  does  not  rise  as  high  in  1912  as  in  1913.  The  1913  percentages  are 
higher  than  the  1912  at  all  points  representing  wages  of  $10  and  over, 
while  the  reverse  is  true  for  wages  below  $10.  The  greatest  rise, 
however,  occurred  in  the  $10  to  $11.99  group  containing  the  rate 
fixed  by  the  protocol  ($10),  and  a  corresponding  decline  occurred 
in  the  two  groups  from  $8  to  $9.99  a  week.  The  percentage  of 
those  receiving  $10  a  week  and  over  increased  from  less  than  58  in 
1912  to  over  70  in  1913  and  correspondingly  declined  in  the  case  of 
those  receiving  under  $10  a  week. 

TABLE  54.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF    EXAMINERS,  WEEK  WORKERS,  RECEIVING 
EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  ratos  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassor-iation 
A. 

Association 
B. 

Nonassociation 
B.i 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  S3 

$3  to  S3  99 

1 

4 
8 
19 
41 
30 
39 
146 
66 
23 
1 

1 
4 
11 
22 
49 
53 
95 
298 
140 
92 
14 
8 
3 

$4  to  §4  99 

5 
4 
9 
22 
38 
39 
79 
38 
15 
1 
1 

3 
4 

7 
14 
32 
37 
74 
56 
35 
6 
1 

8 
10 
19 
39 
77 
90 
172 
99 
52 
8 
2 

$5  to  $5  99 

2 
2 
3 
7 
13 
15 
3 
2 

2 
2 
2 
9 
10 
32 
12 
5 
2 

1 
1 
6 
14 
42 
110 
68 
61 
11 
8 
1 

$6  to  $6  99 

1 

$7  to  §7  99 

$8  to  S8  99 

$9toS9.99  
$10toS11.99  
$12  to  SI3.99. 

1 
4 
2 

4 
10 
4 
3 

$14  to  815.99... 
$16  toS17  99 

$18  to  $19  99 

$20  to  $22.49... 

$29  50  to  $°4  99 

2 

$25  to  $27  49 

$27  50  to  $29  99 

$30  and  over  

Total  

251 

370 

48 

76 

269 

323 

8 

21 

»576 

3790 

1  Percentages  for  nonrv>sociation  B  shops  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

8  Not  including  64  females  for  whom  weekly  rates  could  not  be  ascertained. 

3  Not  including  52  females  and  10  males  for  whom  weekly  rates  could  not  be  ascertained. 


126 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUEEAU   OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  54.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  EXAMINERS,  WEEK  WORKERS,  RECEIV- 
ING EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF 
SHOPS— Concluded . 

PER  CENT. 


Classified  rates  of 
•wages  per  week. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association 
B. 

Nonassociati'on 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

$3  to  $3  99 

0.3 

0. 

1. 
2. 
6. 
6. 
12. 
37. 
17. 
11. 
1. 
1. 

$4  to  $4.99  

$5  to  $5  99 

2.0 
1.6 
3.6 
8.9 
15.1 
15.5 
31.4 
15.1 
6.0 
.4 
.4 

1.1 
2.2 
5.1 
11.1 
8.1 
10.5 
39.5 
15.1 
6.2 
.3 

L"i- 

1.4 
1.7 
3.3 
6.8 
13.4 
15.6 
29.9 
17.0 
9.0 
1.4 
.3 

4.2 
4.2 
6.2 
14.6 
27.1 
31.2 
6.2 
4.2 
2.1 

2.6 
2.6 
2.6 
11.8 
13.2 
42.1 
15.8 
6.6 
2.6 

1.5 

2.6 
5.2 
12.0 
13.7 
27.5 
20.8 
13.0 
2.2 
.4 

0.3 
.3 
1.9 
4.3 
13.0 
34.1 
21.0 
18.9 
3.4 
2.5 
3 

$6  to  $6  99 

$7  to  $7  99 

$8  to  $8  99 

$9  to  $9  99 

$10  to  $11  99 

$12  to  $13  99 

$14  to  $15.99  
$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19  99 

$20  to  $22  49 

5 

$22  50  to  824  99 

$25  to  $27  49 



$27  50  to  $29.99   .   ... 

$30  and  over 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

ICO. 

SUMMARY  OF  PERCENTAGES. 


Under  $10. 

46.7 

38.4 

36.1 

19.8 

42.2 

29. 

$10  to  $11  99 

31.4 

39.5 

27.5 

34.1 

29.9 

37. 

$12  and  over  

21.9 

22.1 

36.4 

46.1 

28.0 

32. 

Total 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100  0 

100 

FINISHERS. 

The  protocol  distinguishes  between  two  kinds  of  finishers — -dress- 
maker finishers  and  plain  finishers.  For  the  former,  a  weekly  rate 
of  not  less  than  $8  a  week  is  provided;  for  the  latter,  piece  rates 
are  established  with  a  provision  as  to  the  minimum  earnings  of  $8 
a  week  if  the  worker  is  retained  after  one  week's  trial. 

Finishers  do  most  of  the  sewing  that  has  to  be  done  by  hand 
The  plain  finishers  sew  on  hooks  and  eyes,  buttons,  belts;  they 
baste  the  bottoms  of  skirts,  etc.  Any  girl  who  can  use  a  needle 
can  be  put  to  work  as  a  finisher.  Dressmaker  finishers  are  employee 
on  the  higher  grade  of  dresses.  In  addition  to  doing  the  same  work 
as  the  plain  finishers,  they  do  the  other  work  that  has  to  be  done 
by  hand  on  higher-grade  dresses,  such  as  sewing  on  the  trimmings 
ornaments,  sashes,  rosettes,  bows,  ties,  etc.  This  class  of  finishers  is 
obtained  from  among  plain  finishers  and  dressmakers  who  have 
previously  worked  in  custom  dressmaking  establishments  in  this 
country  or  abroad. 


SEX. 


Only  women  are  employed  as  finishers. 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN  DKESS  AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY.     127 


WAGES. 

For  1913  5,363  finishers  were  reported  (Table  11),  while  for  1912 
records  were  obtained  for  only  4,352.  Of  those  employed  in  1913, 
3,334,  or  62  per  cent,  worked  by  the  week  and  2,029,  or  38  per  cent, 
worked  by  the  piece.  That  is  to  say,  only  a  little  over  one- third 
were  pieceworkers. 

Wages  of  week  workers. — Of  the  3,249  finishers  working  by  the 
<week  (Table  55),  those  receiving  the  minimum  rate  of  $8  a  week 

CHART  12.— PER  CENT  OF  EXAMINERS  (WEEK  WORKERS)  RECEIVING 
EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913. 


35 


Z5 


20 


15 


10 


l 

h 


Weekly  Rates  of 
Wages  of  Examiners. 

1312 

1913 


40% 


Z5 


20 


15 


/O 


$4    $5      $6     $7     $8     $9     $10  $12  $14  $16  $18  $20  $22^ 

and  less  than  $9  numbered  1,148,  constituting  the  largest  single 
group,  namely,  over  35  per  cent  of  the  total.  The  next  largest  group 
were  those  receiving  $9  and  less  than  $10  a  week,  who  formed  nearly 
one-fifth  of  the  total,  the  two  together  constituting  more  than  55 
per  cent  of  the  total,  or  considerably  more  than  one-half  of  all  the 
women  finishers  working  by  the  week.  Nearly  16  per  cent  received 
$10  and  less  than  $12  a  week,  and  a  little  less  than  12  percent  received 
$7  and  less  than  $8  a  week.  The  percentage  of  those  receiving  $12  a 
week  and  over  was  5.5.  The  percentage  of  those  earning  less  than 
the  minimum  protocol  rate  of  $8  a  week  was  less  than  24,  or  nearly 
one-fourth  of  all  the  finishers  working  by  the  week,  and  the  number 


128  BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OP   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

of  those  earning  under  $6  a  week  formed  a  little  less  than  5  per  cent 
of  the  total. 

A  comparison  of  the  wages  of  week-working  finishers  in  the  differ- 
ent branches  of  the  industry  can  be  made  from  the  figures  of 
percentages  given  in  Table  55.  This  table  shows  that  the  number 
of  those  receiving  more  than  the  minimum  protocol  rate  of  $8  a 
week  is  higher  in  the  nonassociation  B  shops  (high-grade  garments) 
than  in  the  association  B  shops  and  is  higher  in  nonassociation  A 
shops  than  in  the  association  A  shops.  The  only  exception  is  in  the 
case  of  those  receiving  $12  and  less  than  $14  a  week,  in  which  the 
percentage  of  workers  in  the  nonassociation  B  and  association  B  shops 
is  practically  the  same,  while  of  workers  receiving  $14  a  week  anc 
over  there  is  only  1  person  in  the  nonassociation  B  shops  and  only 
4  in  the  nonassociation  A  shops.  In  the  case  of  the  A  shops,  the 
percentages  in  nonassociation  shops  for  groups  receiving  $8  anc 
over  are  in  practically  all  cases  above  those  for  association  shops 
though  the  difference  between  the  two  is  very  small.  The  relative 
conditions  are  reversed  for  wages  below  $8  a  week. 

Earnings  of  pieceworkers. — There  was  no  such  concentration  o: 
workers  receiving  a  single  rate  of  wages  in  the  ca'se  of  the  finishers 
working  by  the  piece  as  we  have  seen  in  the  case  of  the  finishers 
working  by  the  week,  where  more  than  one-third  of  the  workers 
earned  $8  a  week.  As  will  be  seen  from  Table  56,  six  wage  groups 
namely,  those  earning  $6  and  less  than  $7,  $7  and  less  than  $8,  $8 
and  less  than  $9,  $9  and  less  than  $10,  $10  and  less  than  $12,  anc 
$12  and  less  than  $14,  contributed  each  about  10  per  cent  in  rounc 
numbers  to  the  total  of  finisher  pieceworkers  in  1913,  together 
embracing  over  61  per  cent  of  all.  The  number  of  those  who  earnec 
$14  a  week  or  more  during  the  busiest  week  of  1913  slightly  exceedec 
9  per  cent,  leaving  about  30  per  cent  earning  less  than  $6  during 
the  busiest  week  of  the  year. 

A  comparison  of  the  earnings  of  pieceworkers  in  the  different 
branches  of  the  industry  can  be  obtained  from  Table  56.  This  table 
shows  that  no  such  clear  line  of  demarcation  can  be  drawn  between 
the  earnings  of  pieceworkers  in  the  different  branches  of  the  industry 
as  in  the  case  of  the  week  workers.  The  nonassociation  B  shops 
(higher-grade  garments)  contain  the  highest  peak  of  all,  19  per  cent 
in  the  $8  and  under  $9  group,  as  against  a  little  over  8  per  cent  for 
the  association  B  shops.  In  practically  all  the  wage  groups  below 
$9  the  nonassociation  B  shops  are  above  the  association  B  shops;  on 
the  other  hand,  above  the  $9  group  the  association  B  is  considerably 
above  the  nonassociation  B,  showing  a  larger  percentage  of  the 
higher-paid  finishers  in  the  association  shops. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DBESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.     129 

The  same  is  true  in  general  of  the  association  A  and  nonassocia- 
tion  A  shops,  although  the  distinction  between  these  two  is  not  so 
clear  and  so  much  in  favor  of  the  association  as  is  the  case  with  the 
B  shops.  The  highest  peak  in  the  association  A  shops  reaches  less 
than  12  per  cent  in  the  $9  and  under  $10  group  while  the  nonassocia- 
tion  A  shops  reach  the  highest  point  at  16.5  per  cent  in  the  $10  and 
under  $12  group.  If  we  draw  the  line  at  $10,  the  proportion  of 
finishers  earning  $10  a  week  or  more  in  the  association  A  shops  is 
less  than  24  per  cent,  while  in  the  nonassociation  A  shops  it  exceeds 
29  per  cent,  showing  a  slight  advantage  in  favor  of  the  nonassociation 
shops. 

COMPARISON  OF  WAGES  IN  1912  AND  1913. 

Changes  in  wages  of  week  workers. — A  glance  at  the  last  two  col- 
umns in  Table  55  and  at  Chart  13  will  show  a  uniform  increase  in 
I  the  number  of  week  workers  receiving  $8  a  week  or  more  and  a 
[reduction  in  the  relative  number   of   those  receiving  less  than  $8. 
;  The  percentage  of  those  receiving  the  minimum  protocol  rate  of  $8 
i  and  unjjer  $9  rose  from  21.2  to  35.3  per  cent.     The  percentage  of 
I  those  receiving  $8  a  week  or  more  increased  from  less  than  51  in  1912 
to  over  76  in  1913.     In  every  group  below  $8  a  week  there  was  a 
i  larger  percentage  in  1912  than  in  1913. 

Changes  in  the  earnings  of  pieceworkers. — No  such  striking  change 
iis  seen  in  the  case  of  the  pieceworkers  (see  Table  56).  The  per- 
centage of  finishers  earning  $8  and  less  than  $10  during  the  busiest 
week  of  the  year  was  practically  the  same  during  both  years,  namely ; 
a  little  less  than  20  in  1912  and'  a  little  less  than  21  in  1913.  The 
percentage  of  those  earning  $10  and  less  than  $12  declined  from  14 
in  1912  to  nearly  11  in  1913.  Of  those  earning  $12  a  week  and  over, 
there  was  an  increase  from  less  than  15  per  cent  in  1912  to  nearly  19 
per  cent  in  1913.  Of  those  earning  less  than  $8  a  week  there  was  a 
decline  from  51.5  per  cent  in  1912  to  49  per  cent  in  1913.  The  drop 
is  clearly  shown  to  be  in  the  $4  and  under  $6  and  $10  and  under  $12 
groups,  with  a  consequent  increase  in  the  number  of  those  earning 
$6  and  under  $9  and  $12  and  over  a  week. 

Summary. — The  figures  in  Tables  55  and  56  may  be  summed  up  as 
follows:  First,  that  there  has  been,  on  the  whole,  an  increase  in  the 
wages  of  finishers  which  was  much  more  effective  among  the  week 
workers  than  among  the  pieceworkers;  second,  that  there  was  a  larger 
percentage  of  higher  paid  workers  in  the  high-grade  shops  than  in 
the  low-grade  shops;  third,  that  in  each  of  these  classes  of  shops  the 
percentage  of  the  higher  paid  week  workers  was  greater  in  the  non- 
association  than  in  the  association  shops;  fourth,  among  the  piece- 
42132  °— Bull.  146—14 9 


130 


BULLETIN   OF    THE   BUREAU   OF    LABOE   STATISTICS. 


workers,  the  highest  percentage  of  finishers  earning  $8  a  week  and  up 
was  in  the  high-grade  association  shops,  where  they  numbered  58 
per  cent,  followed  by  the  low-grade  nonassociation  shops  where  they 
numbered  nearly  52  per  cent,  while  in  the  high-grade  nonassociation 
shops  and  in  the  low-grade  association  shops  it  was  practically  th 
same,  nearly  46  per  cent.     In  other  words,  where  the  wages  wer 
paid  by  the  week,  they  were  determined,  in  the  long  run,  by  the  ski 

CHART  13.— PER  CENT   OF   FINISHERS   (WEEK  WORKERS)   RECEIVIN( 
EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913. 


*% 


35 


30 


25 


20 


15 


10 


Weekly  Rates  of 
Wages  of  Finishers 
19/2  ---- 


1913 


40% 


35 


20 


15 


/O 


$3     $4     $5      $6     $7     $8     $9     $10 


$12 


$14 


$16 


$18 


$20 


of  the  worker.  The  workers  were  enabled  to  command  higher  wages 
in  the  shops  manufacturing  high-grade  garments  than  in  those  manu- 
facturing low-grade  garments  and  requiring  less  skilled  workers.  On 
the  other  hand,  where  the  work  was  paid  for  by  the  piece,  the  earnings 
were  determined  not  only  by  the  skill  but  by  the  speed  of  the  workers, 
and  the  rates  paid,  not  being  uniform  in  the  different  shops,  resulted 
in  great  differences  in  earnings  without  regard  to  the  character  of 
the  goods  manufactured. 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.      131 

TABLE  55.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OP  FINISHERS,  WEEK   WORKERS,   RECEIVING 
EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912  - 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3... 

1 
11 
35 
92 
180 
234 
218 
141 
82 
20 
7 

1 
2 

5 
14 

25 
65 
43 
32 
24 
6 

2 

14 
66 
179 
382 
635 
548 
383 
287 
67 
19 
4 
2 

$3  to  $3.99 

1 

15 
53 
100 
170 
402 
221 
168 
34 
13 

1 
5 
17 

40 
58 
166 
89 
76 
21 
4 

1 
23 

61 
160 
295 
233 
165 
163 
34 
9 
3 

1 
4 

7 
17 
22 
62 

69 
45 
10 

1 

3 
41 
111 
236 
372 
1,148 
643 
514 
124 
50 
3 
4 

$4  to  $4  99 

17 
34 
79 
122 
518 
264 
225 
59 
32 
3 
3 

3 
12 

17 
41 
54 
45 
18 
7 
3 

$5  to  S5.99... 

$6  to  ?699  . 

$7toS7  99 

$8  to  $8.99 

|9  to  $9  99 

$10  to  $11.  99 

$12  to  $13.99  

$14  to  $15  99 

$16  to  $17.99. 

1 

$18  to  S19  99 

2 

1 

Total 

1,023 

1,178 

218 

477 

1,147 

1,356 

200 

238 

12,588 

23,249 

PER  CENT. 


Under  $3... 

0.1 

0.5 

0  1 

$3  to  $3.99  

1.0 

0.1 

.9 

0.2 

0.1 

0.5 

.5 

0  1 

$4  to  $4.99  

3.4 

1.3 

2.3 

1.0 

2.0 

1.3 

1.5 

1.7 

2  6 

1  3 

$5  to  S5  99 

9.0 

4.5 

6.4 

3.6 

5.3 

2.5 

6.0 

2  9 

6  9 

3  4 

$6  to  $6.99  

17.6 

8.5 

11.5 

8.4 

13.9 

5.8 

8.5 

7.1 

14.8 

7  3 

$7  to  $7.99 

22.9 

14.4 

29.8 

12.1 

25.7 

9.0 

20.5 

9.2 

24  5 

11  5 

$8  to  $8.99  

21.3 

34.1 

19.7 

34.9 

20.3 

38.2 

27.0 

26.1 

21.2 

35  3 

$9  to  $9.99 

13.8 

18.8 

14.7 

18.7 

14.4 

19.5 

22.5 

29.0 

14.8 

19  8 

$10to  $11.99  

8.0 

14.2 

11.0 

15.9 

14.2 

16.6 

9.0 

18.9 

11.1 

15.8 

$12  to  $13.99  ... 

2.0 

2.9 

2.7 

4.4 

3.0 

4.3 

3.5 

4.2 

2.6 

3.8 

$14  to  $15  99 

.7 

1.1 

.8 

.8 

2.4 

1.5 

.4 

.7 

1  5 

$16  to  $17  99 

.5 

.3 

.2 

2 

I 

$18  to  819.99  .. 

.2 

.1 

.2 

.1 

.1 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

SUMMARY  OF  PERCENTAGES. 


Less  than  $8 

54.0 

28.8 

51.4 

25.3 

47.1 

18.6 

36.5 

21.4 

49.3 

23.6 

$8  to  $8.99          

21.3 

34.1 

19.7 

34.9 

20.3 

38.2 

27.0 

26.1 

21.2 

35.3 

$9  and  over  .  . 

24.7 

37.1 

28.9 

39.8 

32.6 

43.2 

36.5 

52.5 

29.5 

41.1 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

1  Not  including  196,  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

2  Not  including  85,  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 


132 


BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 


TABLE  56 NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  FINISHERS,  PIECEWORKERS,  EARNING  EACH 

CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR,  1912  AND    1913, 
BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  earnings 
per  week. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association 
B. 

Nonassociation 
B.i 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913    ^ 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  S3 

125 
38 
46 
70 
64 
79 
78 
76 
104 
54 
26 
14 
4 

122 
59 
54 
66 
95 
96 
91 
106 
55 
86 
55 
17 
3 

18 
7 
13 
16 
15 
20 
28 
18 
1       28 
.  7 
8 
4 
1 

34 
15 
14 
24 
37 
40 
44 
31 
56 
28 
12 
4 

117 
41 
57 
46 
55 
68 
66 
73 
114 
79 
42 
10 
3 
1 
1 

76 
41 
37 
38 
56 
69 
63 
75 
117 
85 
55 
24 
14 
4 

2 
2 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
5 
2 
6 
1 

5 
10 
13 
8 
11 
16 
22 
9 
10 
5 
5 
2 

262 
88 
118 
134 
136 
169 
174 
172 
248 
146 
77 
28 
8 
1 
3 

237 
125 
118 
136 
199 
221 
220 
221 
238 
204 
127 
47 
17 
4 

$3  to  §3.99  

$4  to  $4.99.  . 

$5  to  $5  99 

$6  to  $6.99...   

$7  to  $7.99 

$8  to  $8.99  

$9  to  $9.99 

$10  to  $11.99  

$12  to  $13.99 

$14  to  $15.99  

$16  to  $17.99 

$18  to  $19.99  

$20  to  $22.49 

$22  50  to  $24  99 

'2 

Total 

780 

905 

183 

339 

773 

754 

28  I        116 

2  1,  764 

s  2,  114" 

PER  CENT. 


Under  $3 

16.0 

13.5 

9.8 

10.0 

15.1 

10.1 

4.3 

14.9 

11  2 

$3  to  $3.99     . 

4.9 

6.5 

3.8 

4.4 

5.3 

5.4 

8.6 

5.0 

5.9 

$4  to  $4.99 

5.9 

6.0 

7.1 

4.1 

7.4 

4.9 

11.2 

6.7 

5.6 

S5toSo.99.  

9.0 

7.3 

8.8 

7.1 

6.0 

5.0 

6.9 

7.6 

6.4 

$6  to  SG.99 

8.2 

10.5 

8.2 

10.9 

7.1 

7.4 

9.5 

7.7 

9.4 

$7  to  $7  99 

10  1 

10  6 

10  9 

11  8 

8  8 

9.2 

13.8 

9  6 

10  5 

$8  to  $8.99 

10.0 

10.0 

15.3 

13.0 

8.5 

8.3 

19.0 

9.9 

10.4 

$9  to  $^  99 

9  7 

11  7 

9.8 

9.2 

9.5 

10  0 

7.8 

9  7 

10  5 

$10  to  $11.  99 

13.4 

6.1 

15.3 

16.5 

14.8 

15.5 

8.6 

14.0 

11.3 

$12  to  $13  99 

6.9 

9.5 

O     O 

8.3 

10.2 

11.3 

4.3 

8.3 

9  6 

$14  to  $15.99 

3.3 

6.1 

4.4 

3.5 

5.4 

7.3 

4.3 

4.4 

6.0 

$16  to  $17  99 

1.8 

1.9 

2.2 

1.2 

1.3 

3.2 

1.7 

1.6 

2  2 

$18  to  $19  99 

.5 

3 

6 

.4 

1  9 

4 

g 

$20  to  $22.49 

.1 

.5 

.1 

.2 

$22  50  to  $24  99 

.3 

.1 

2 

Total 

100.0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

100  0 

i  Percentages  for  1912  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

*  Including.  196  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wa^es  could  be  ascertained. 

*  Including  85  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

IRONERS  AND  PRESSERS. 

The  protocol  provided  for  different  rates  of  wages  for  ironers  and 
pressers  without  denning  what  was  meant  by  each.  Considerable 
difference  of  opinion  has  developed  between  the  \vorkers  and  the 
manufacturers  as  to  where  the  exact  line  is  to  be  drawn  between  the 
two  classes  of  workers. 

By  pressers  are  meant  those  who  work  with  a  heavy  flatiron,  placing 
a  wet  cloth  between  the  iron  and  the  garment  that  is  pressed.  By 
ironers  are  meant  those  working  with  a  light  iron  without  the  use  of 
a  wet  cloth.  The  heavy  iron  is  used  on  serges  and  other  woolen  and 
worsted  cloths,  heavy  linens,  ratines,  and,  sometimes,  silks.  The 
light  iron  is  used  mostly  on  lingerie  and  light  cotton  cloth  and  most 
silks.  So  far,  there  is  complete  agreement  on  both  sides.  The 
difference  arises  in  determining  where  the  light  iron  ends  and  the 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.     133 

heavy  iron  begins.  The  workers  are  inclined  to  consider  an  iron 
weighing  8  pounds  or  more  as  a  heavy  iron.  Among  the  manufac- 
turers, some  draw  the  line  at  12  pounds.  There  is  a  tendency  to  an 
agreement  on  10  pounds  as  .the  line  of  demarcation. 

In  view  of  the  contention  as  to  the  designation  of  pressers  and 
ironers,  respectively,  it  was  found  impossible  to  account  for  each 
separately.  Several  manufacturers  call  their  workers  pressers, 
although  they  work  with  light  irons;  others  call  their  people  uniformly 
ironers,  although  the  majority  of  them  may  be  pressers;  while  in  some 
shops  the  relative  number  of  pressers  and  ironers  changes  with  the 
seasons  and  with  the  changes  in  the  character  of  the  garments  manu- 
factured. It  was,  therefore,  found  necessary  to  combine  pressers  and 

ironers  into  one  class. 

SEX. 

With  but  rare  exceptions  pressers  are  all  men,  while  ironers  are 
mostly  women.  Of  the  pressers  and  ironers,  1,119  are  reported  in 
Table  8  for  1913  and  816  for  1912.  Of  those  in  1913,  537  were  males 
and  582  were  females. 

WAGES. 

Although  the  protocol  provides  for  weekly  rates  of  wages  for 
ironers  and  pressers,  nearly  one- third  of  all  the  ironers  and  pressers 
found  on  the  pay  rolls  of  the  shops  investigated  were  working  by  the 
piece  (see  Table  11).  The  exact  percentage  of  pieceworkers  was  32 
per  cent  in  1913  and  37  per  cent  in  1912.  Although  the  proportion 
of  pieceworkers  declined  from  1912  to  1913,  the  actual  number  of 
pieceworkers  increased,  being  298  in  1912  and  357  in  1913. 

Wages  of  week  workers,  women. — The  minimum  rates  of  wages  pro- 
vided by  the  protocol  for  ironers  are  $12  a  week  for  women  and  $15 
for  men  and  $20  for  pressers,  who  are  all  men.  The  number  of 
women  week  workers  receiving  a  wage  of  $12  and  under  $14  a  week 
was  115  out  of  the  total  of  387,  or  nearly  30  per  cent  (Table  57). 
Nearly  13  per  cent  of  the  women  ironers  received  $14  and  less  than 
$16;  over  4  per  cent  received  $16  and  less  than  $18;  5  women  ironers 
received  $18  and  under*  $20,  and  2  women  received  $20  a  week  and 
over.  That  is  to  say,  less  than  49  per  cent  of  all  the  women  ironers 
working  by  the  week  received  $12  a  week  or  more,  while  over  51  per 
cent,  or  more  than  half,  received  less  than  the  minimum  protocol 
rate.  Of  these,  nearly  21  per  cent,  or  more  than  one-fifth  of  all  the 
women  week  workers,  received  $10  and  less  than  $12  a  week,  and 
nearly  12  per  cent,  or  more  than  one- tenth,  received  $9  and  less  than 
$10.  The  remainder,  over  18  per  cent,  received  $4  and  less  than  $9 
a  week.  Of  these,  4  workers  received  $4  and  less  than  $5  a  week  and 
5  workers  received  $5  and  less  than  $6. 

Wages  of  week  workers,  men. — On  the  whole  the  men  week  workers 
have  fared  better  than  the  women  in  receiving  the  protocol  rates. 


134 


BULLETIN   OF    THE   BUREAU   OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


The  number  of  men  ironers  or  pressers  receiving  $12  a  week  or  mo] 
constituted  nearly  82  per  cent  of  the  total  of  352  men  ironers  ai 
pressers  (Table  58).     Those  in  the  groups  getting  $15  (the  minimi 
protocol  rate  of  ironers)  or  more  constituted  more  than  69  per  cent 
the  total;  those  receiving  the  minimum  protocol  rate  of  pressers 
and  more  than  that  amount  constituted  over  28  per  cent  of  the  tot* 
This  does  not  mean  that  28  per  cent  of  the  pressers  received  th( 
minimum  pressers'  rate  of  $20,  since  the  pressers  and   ironers 
combined.     On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  nunil 
of  those  who  received  $15  and  less  than  $20  a  week  includes  not  onlj 
ironers  but  also  pressers. 

Earnings   of  pieceworkers,   women. — Since   pieceworkers   are   pi 
sumed   to  work  harder  than  week  workers,  especially  during  tl 
busy  season,  and  since  the  figures  here  given  for  pieceworkers  cov< 
their  total  earnings,  including  overtime,  while  the  figures  for  th< 
week  workers  are  the  weekly  rates,  not  including  overtime,  it 
natural  to  expect  that  the  pieceworkers'  earnings  will  exceed 
weekly  rates  of  wages  for  the  corresponding  workers.     A  comparisoi 
of  the  piecework  earnings  and  the  weekly  rates  bears  this  out  for  th( 
women,  but  not  so  strongly,  if  at  all,  for  the  men. 

Earnings  of  pieceworkers ,  men. — Thus,  the  proportion  of  men  (Table 
60)  earning  $12  a  week  and  over  by  piecework  was  over  83  per  cenl 
as  compared  with  nearly  82  per  cent  of  men  receiving  these  rates 
the  week  (Table  58).     The  proportion  of  men  earning  $14  a  week  01 
more  was  more  than  74  per  cent  as  compared  with  more  than  69  p< 
cent  receiving  these  rates  by  the  week. 

In  the  case  of  women  pieceworkers  (Table  59),  nearly  67  p< 
cent  earned  $12  a  week  or  more,  while  among  the  women 
workers  less  than  49  per  cent  received  that  rate,  and  the  proportio] 
of  women  pieceworkers  earning  $14  a  week  or  more  was  over  57  p< 
cent  as  compared  with  less  than  20  per  cent  of  women  earning 
amount  by  th'e  week.  Among  the  women  week  workers,  the  highesl 
wage  group  was  that  of  $20  and  less  than  $22.50,  while  among  th( 
women  pieceworkers  nearly  9  per  cent  earned*$20  and  less  than  $22. 5( 
a  week,  over  9  per  cent  earned  $22.50  and  less  than  $25,  nearly  3 
cent  earned  $25  and  less  than  $27.50,  nearly  4  per  cent  earned  $27. 5( 
and  less  than  $30,  and  1  woman  earned  over  $30. 

The  inference  from  these  figures  is  clear  that  where  women  anc 
men  are  compensated  strictly  on  their  respective  merits — that  is,  i] 
proportion  to  the  work  turned  out,  receiving  the  same  compensation 
for  equal  quantities  of  work — women  come  much  nearer  earning  tl 
same  wages  as  the  men  than  where  the  compensation  is  fixed  accoi 
to  the  sex  as  is  the  case  with  the  weekly  rates. 

While  the  proportion  of  men  earning  $12  a  week  and  over  is  pra< 
tically  the  same  among  pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  namely,  ov< 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.     135 

83  per  cent  in  the  former  and  nearly  82  per  cent  in  the  latter,  the 
difference  between  the  two  classes  increases  as  the  scale  of  wages 
increases.  Thus  those  receiving  $16  a  week  or  more  constitute  over 
66  per  cent  among  the  pieceworkers  and  only  52.5  per  cent  among 
the  week  workers;  those  receiving  $20  a  week  or  more  form  nearly 
49  per  cent  among  pieceworkers  and  less  than  29  per  cent  among  the 
week  workers;  those  receiving  $25  a  week  or  more  constitute  over 
29  per  cent  among  the  pieceworkers  and  less  than  4  per  cent  among 
the  week  workers. 

A  comparison  of  the  wages  in  the  high-grade  and  low-grade  shops 
is  made  in  Table  57,  giving  the  wages  of  the  women  ironers  working 
by  the  week,  this  being  the  largest  group  in  the  occupation  of  ironers 
and  pressers.  This  table  shows  for  a  few  of  the  lower  wage  groups 
an  excess  of  workers  in  the  low-grade  shops  as  compared  with  the 
high  grade.  Corresponding  to  this  is  an  excess  in  the  proportion  of 
workers  in  the  high-grade  shops  over  the  low-grade  for  the  next 
group  of  higher-paid  workers.  Thus  there  is  a  greater  percentage 
of  workers  receiving  less  than  $8  a  week  in  the  A  shops  than  in  the 
B  shops.  In  the  next  three  succeeding  wage  groups  ($8  and  under 
$12  a  week)  the  percentage  for  the  B  shops  rises  slightly  above  that  for 
the  A  shops.  Again,  for  the  group  $12  and  under  $14  a  week  there 
is  a  high  peak  above  32  per  cent  for  the  A  shops,  while  the  percentage 
for  B  shops  rises  to  a  little  over  23  per  cent;  and  for  the  group  $14 
and  under  $16  the  percentage  for  B  shops  is  higher  than  that  for 
the  A  shops,  showing  that  there  is  a  greater  percentage  of  the  higher- 
paid  workers  in  the  high-grade  shops  than  in  the  shops  manufacturing 
the  cheaper  garments. 

Wages  in  1912  and  1913. — The  effect  of  the  protocol  upon  the 
wages  of  female  ironers,  week  workers,  is  shown  in  Table  57  and  in 
Chart  14.  The  usual  high  peak  is  shown  for  the  group  containing  the 
protocol  rate  ($12),  as  is  the  case  with  week  workers  in  all  occupations 
for  which  there  is  only  one  protocol  rate.  The  number  of  those 
receiving  $12  to  $13.99  a  week  has  risen  from  less  than  20  per  cent 
of  all  the  women  ironers  to  nearly  30  per  cent,  and  those  receiving 
less  than  $12  formed  a  much  larger  proportion  in  1912  than  in  1913, 
while  those  receiving  $12  a  week  or  more  are  relatively  more  numer- 
ous in  1913.  There  is  a  clear  shift  ing  of  the  entire  force  from  lower- 
paid  positions  to  higher-paid. 

Table  58  and  Chart  15  show  the  changes  in  the  wages  of  men  pressers 
and  irpners,  week  workers,  in  the  two  years  1912  and  1913.  The 
change  here  does  not  show  the  same  uniform  movement  upward  as  in 
Chart  14.  On  the  whole,  however,  it  shows  an  improvement  and  a 
decided  increase  in  the  number  of  those  receiving  $20  a  week  or 
more  and  a  slight  increase  in  the  number  of  those  receiving  $14  to 
$15.99  a  week.  The  $20  to  $22.49  group  forms  the  highest  peak, 


136 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR    STATISTICS. 


rising  to  nearly  22  per  cent,  as  against  only  4  per  cent  in  the  year 
1912.  All  the  other  groups  above  $20  show  an  increase  with  the 
exception  of  the  group  of  those  receiving  $30  and  over,  which  has 
declined  from  more  than  5  per  cent  in  1912  to  a  little  more  than  1  per 
cent  in  1913.  This  represents,  however /only  11  persons  in  1912  and 
5  persons  in  1913.  With  the  exception  of  those  receiving  $7  and 
under  $8  a  week,  all  the  wage  groups  below  $15  show  a  falling  off 
since  1912.  The  percentage  of  ironers  receiving  $10  and  under  $12 

CHART  14.— PER  CENT  OF  IRONERS,  FEMALE  (WEEK  WORKERS),  RECEIV- 
ING EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913.' 


55 
50 
Z5 
20 
15 
SO 
5 
& 

tv/o 

35 
50 
25 
20 
15 
10 

5 

n°/ 

W 

-     Wag 

eekfy  Rates  of 
es  of  Ironers-Female.             ' 

wi  a  / 

70/3 

/ 

\ 

% 

'           \ 

\ 

t    I 

/ 

\\ 

'£ 

-/ 

\  \ 
\ 

\ 

/ 

'/ 

5 

^  O^ 

•tf: 

\  " 

\ 

\ 

3     $4     $5      $6     $7     $8     $9     $10            $12              $14             $16              Stover. 

is  practically  the  same  for  both  years,  namely,  8  and  7.4.  All  these 
reductions  have  been  accompanied  by  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
people  receiving  the  protocol  rate  of  $15,  and  especially  in  the  number 
of  those  receiving  $20  a  week  and  more. 

Tables  59  and  60  show  clearly  the  changes  that  have  occurred 
in  the  earnings  of  pressers  and  ironers  working  by  the  piece.  Look- 
ing first  at  the  figures  of  percentages  of  female  pieceworkers  in  these 
tables,  an  almost  uniform  decline  is  found  in  the  proportion  of  those 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DEESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.     137 


\ 


?> 


V 


138 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 


earning  less  than  $18  a  week.     The  changes  in  the  earnings  of  men 
pieceworkers  show  the  same  tendency,  though  not  with  the 
uniformity  as  among  the  women  ironers. 

The  only  exception  to  this  uniform  decline  in  the  proportion 
those  earning  less  than  $18  a  week  is  in  the  case  of  those  earning 
$8  and  less  than  $9,  the  proportion  of  whom  increased  from  2.3  per 
cent  in  1912  to  3.1  per  cent  in  1913  (representing  6  persons  in  1912 
and  6  in  1913),  the  proportion  of  those  who  earned  $10  and  less  than 
$12  a  week  remaining  practically  the  same,  namely,  14.5  per  cent  in 
1912  and  13.4  per  cent  in  1913  (38  workers  in  1912  and  only  26  in 
1913).  This  is  also  true  of  those  earning  $16  and  less  than  $18  a 
week,  who  constituted  13.5  per  cent  in  1912  and  nearly  13  per  cent 
in  1913  (35  workers  in  1912  and  only  25  in  1913). 

On  the  other  hand,  the  proportion  of  those  receiving  $18  a  week 
and  more  increased  from  less  than  19  per  cent  in  1912  to  over  33 
per  cent  in  1913.  The  inference  from  this  would  be  that  like  the] 
week  rates,  the  piecework  earnings  have  advanced  since  the  adop-< 
tion  of  the  protocol. 

Further  details  as  to  the  changes  in  the  rates  of  wages  of  week 
workers  and  earnings  of  pieceworkers  among  ironers  and  pressers, 
both  women  and  men,  in  each  of  the  four  branches  of  the  industry 
will  be  found  in  Tables  57,  58,  59,  and  60,  which  follow: 

TABLE  57.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  IRONERS,  FEMALE,  WEEK  WORKERS,  RECEIV- 
ING EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OP 
SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A.i 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 
B.i 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  83... 

$3  to  $3.99 

2 
1 

6 
13 
13 
18 
23 
39 
22 
14 
1 

1 

3 
1 
8 
17 
21 
32 
37 
73 
54 
25 
4 

"~4 
5 
16 
19 
27 
46 
81 
115 
50 
17 
5 
2 

$4  to  $4.99  

4 
2 
11 
14 
17 
27 
50 
77 
24 
9 
2 
1 

$5  to  $S.99.  .  . 

2 

4 
8 
13 
12 
32 
32 
11 
3 

3 
4 
5 
9 
17 
28 
31 
25 
8 
2 
1 

$6  to  $6.99... 

1 

$7  to  $7.99  

$8  to  $3.99 

1 
1 

1 

$9  to  $9.99  

2 
3 
2 

1 

2 

$10  to  $11.99  

$12  to  $13.99  

5 
1 

$14  to  $15.99  

$16  to  $17.99 

$18toS19.99  

1 

$20  to  $22.49  

Total 

152 

238 

2 

8 

118 

133 

3 

.      8 

«275 

3387 

1  Percentages  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

2  Not  including  30  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 
Not  including  20  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN  DRESS  AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY.     139 


TABLE  57.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  IRONERS,  FEMALE,  WEEK  WORKERS,  RECEIV- 
ING EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF 
SHOPS— Concluded. 

PER  CENT. 


Classified  rates  of 
-    wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association  B  . 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3  

$3  to  S3  99 

1  3 

0.8 

1.1 

.4 
2.9 
6.2 
7.6 
11.6 
13.5 
26.5 
19.6 
9.1 
1.5 

J4  to  S4  99 

.7 
3.9 
8.6 
8.6 
11.8 
15.1 
25.7 
14.5 
9.2 
.7 

1.7 
.8 
4.6 
6.9 
7.1 
11.3 
21.0 
32.4 
10.1 
3.8 
.8 

1.0 
1.3 
4.1 
4.9 
7.0 
11.9 
20.9 
29.7 
12.9 
4.4 
1.3 
.5 

$5  to  $5  99 

1.7 
3.4 
6.8 
11.0 
10.2 
27.1 
27.1 
9.3 
2.5 

2.3 
3.0 
3.8 
6.8 
12.8 
21.1 
23.3 
18.8 
6.0 
1.5 
.8 

$6  to  S6  99            .... 

$7  to  37  99 

$8  to  88  99  

$9  to  8°  99 

$10  to  £11  99 

$12  to  S13  99 

$14  to  815  99 

$16  to  $17  99        

$18  to  819  99 

$20  to  $22  49 

.4 

Total 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

SUMMARY  OF  PERCENTAGES. 


Under  §12 

75.7 

52.5 

61.0 

49.6 

69  8 

51  2 

$12  to  S13  99 

14.5 

32.4 

27.1 

23.3 

19.6 

29  7 

$14  and  over 

9.9 

15.1 

11.9 

27.1 

10  5 

19  1 

Total 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100  o 

TABLE  58.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  PRESSERS  AND  IRONERS,  MALE,  WEEK 
WORKERS,  RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND 
1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A.i 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 
B.i 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

J912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

1 

1 
1 

$3  to  $3  99 

1 

1 

1 

$4  to  84  99 

$5  to  $5  99 

1 
5 
2 
8 
6 
10 
22 
20 
13 
18 
5 
3 

2 
2 

3 
7 
2 
10 
8 
17 
40 
34 
37 
28 
9 
3 
1 

$6  to  86  99 

5 
11 

9 
4 
17 

24 
38 
28 
18 
45 
7 
5 
1 

1 
1 
2 

6 
14 
12 
5 
26 
44 
59 
56 
30 
76 
10 
7 
1 
5 

|7  to  S7  99 

1 

1 
1 
3 
7 
3 
9 
6 
11 
1 

1 

$8  to  $3  99 

2 
2 
4 
11 
11 
16 
8 
2 

$9  to  SO  99 

$10  to  Sll  99 

3 
5 
3 
6 
1 
1 

5 
12 
"17 

17 
4 
18 
2 
2 

1 
1 
1 
2 
2 
2 

$12  to  813  99 

2 

$14  to  815  99 

$16  to  817.99     .... 

2 
1 

1 

$18  to  819  99 

820  to?22.49  

$22.50  to  $24.99  
$25  to  827  49 

$27  50  to  $29  99 

6 

2 

5 

3 

11 

Total  

120 

214 

20 

43 

66 

85 

6 

10 

2212 

*352 

1  Percentages  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

2  Not  including  1  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rate  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 
8  Not  including  3  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 


140 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  58.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  PRESSERS  AND  IRONERS,  MALE,  WEEK 
WORKERS,  RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND 
1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS— Concluded. 

PER  CENT. 


Classified  rates  of 
wages  per  week. 

Association  A. 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association  B, 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3 

0.5 
.5 

$3  to  $3  99       

1.5 

1.2 

0.3 

$4  to  $4.99  

$5  to  $5  99  

0.8 
4.2 
1.7 
6.7 
5.0 
8.3 
18.3 
16.7 
10.8 
15.0 
4.2 
2.5 
.8 

3.0 
3.0 

1  4 

$6  to  $6  99 

2.3 
5.1 
4.2 
1.9 
8.0 
11.2 
17.8 
13.1 
8.4 
21.0 
3.3 
2.3 
.5 

1.2 

3.3 
1.0 
4.7 
3.8 
8.0 
18.9 
16.0 
17.4 
13.2 
4.2 
1.4 
.5 

1.7 
4.0 
3.4 
1.4 
7.4 
12.5 
16.8 
15.9 
8.5 
21.6 
2.8 
2.0 
.3 
1.4 

$7  to  $7.99  

1.2 

$8  to  $8  99 

3.0 
3.0 
6.1 
16.7 
16.7 
24.3 
12.1 
3.0 

2.3 

$9  to  $9.99  

$10  to  $11  99 

6.0 
14.1 
20.0 
20.0 
4.7 
21.2 
2.3 
2.3 

$12  to  $13  99 

$14  to  $15  99        ... 

$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19.99          

$20  to  $22  49 

$22  50  to  $24.99  

$25  to  $27  49 

$27  50  to  $29.99  

$30  and  over 

5.0 

.9 

7.6 

3.5 

5.2 

Total  

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

TABLE  59.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  IRONERS,  FEMALE,  PIECEWORKERS,  EARN- 

.  ING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR,  1912 

AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 

NUMBER. 


Classified  earnings 
per  week. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassociation 
A.i 

Association 
B. 

Nonassociation 
B.i 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Undpr  $3 

5 
4 

2 

3 

4 

2 

9 
4 
4 
8 
11 
10 
6 
29 
38 
28 
31 
35 
14 
20 
10 
2 
3 

7 

$3  to  $3.99  

$4  to  $4.99.  .  .   . 

3 
6 
11 
6 
5 
13 
31 
18 
20 
23 
8 
19 
10 
1 

2 

1 
1 
4 
5 
13 
18 
11 
12 
12 
11 
13 
15 
5 
6 

1 

2 
1 
1 
5 
6 
17 
26 
18 
22 
25 
17 
17 
18 
5 
7 
H| 

$5  to  $5.99... 

2 

$6  to  $6.99  

$7  to  $7.99  

4 
1 
15 
7 
8 
11 
12 
.     6 
1 

1 

2 
8 
7 
6 
11 
5 
4 
2 

$8  to  $8.99  

$9  to  $9.99  

1 

1 

1 

$10  to  $11.99  

$12  to  $13.99.  .. 

2 

$14  to  $15.99.  .  . 

2 
1 
1 

2 
1 

$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19.99,... 
$20  to  $22.49.  . 

$22.50  to  $24.99.... 
$25  to  $27.49.  .  . 

1 

1 
3 

$27.50  to  $29.99...... 

1 

$30  and  over  

1 

Total 

183 

131 

1 

10 

76 

50 

2 

4 

2262 

3195 

1  Percentage  not  computed  on  account  of  small  number  of  employees. 

*  Including  30  week  workerafor  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

8  Including  20  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS  AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY.     141 


TABLE  59.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  IRONERS,  FEMALE,  PIECEWORKERS,  EARN- 
ING EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT,  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR, 
1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS-Concluded. 

PER  CENT. 


Classified  earnings 
per  week. 

Association  A  . 

Nonassociation 
A. 

Association  B. 

Nonassociation 
B. 

Total. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  $3  . 

2.7 
2.2 
1.6 

1.5 

5.3 

4.0 

3.4 
1  5 

3.6 

$3  to  $3  99 

$4  to  $4.  99  

1.5 

1.3 

1.5 
3.1 
4.2 
3.8 
2.3 
11.1 
14.5 
10.7 
11.8 
13.5 
5.3 
7.6 
3.8 
.8 
1.1 

1.0 
.5 
.5 
2.6 
3.1 
8.7 
13.4 
9.2 
11.3 
12.8 
8.7 
8.7 
9.2 
2.6 
3.6 
.5 

$5  to  So.  99 

3.3 
6.0 
3.3 
2.7 
7.1 
17.0 
9.8 
10.9 
12.6 
4.4 
10.4 
5.5 
.5 

.8 
.8 
3.1 
3.8 
'  9.9 
13.7 
8.4 
9.2 
9.2 
8.4 
9.8 
11.5 
3.8 
4.6 

2.6 

$6  to  $6  99 

$7  to  $7.99  

5.3 
1.3 

19  8 

2.0 
2.0 
4  0 

18  to  88  99 

$9  to  89  99 

$10  to  §11.99  

9.2 
10.5 
14.5 
15.8 
7.9 
1.3 

16.0 
14.0 
12.0 
22.0 
10.0 
8.0 
4.0 

$12  to  S13  99 

$14  to  $15.99  

$16  to  SI  7.99. 

$18  to  $19  99 

$20  to  $22.  49  

$22  50  to  $24.99     . 

$25to§27.49  
827.50  to  $29.99  

1  3 

3.9 

$30  and  over 

2.0 

Total  



100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

TABLE  6O.-NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  PRESSERS  AND  IRONERS,  MALE,  PIECET' 
WORKERS,  EARNING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  AMOUNT  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF 
THE  YEAR,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  CLASS  OF  SHOPS. 


Classified  earnings 
per  week. 

Association 
A. 

Nonassocia- 
tion A. 

Association 
B. 

Nonassocia- 
tion B. 

Total. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  S3.  .  . 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1.5 

0.5 

$3  to  S3.99 

$4  to  $4  99 

2 
3 

1 
1 

3 

1.6 
2.2 
.5 

3.2 
3.2 
1.6 
3.8 
9.2 
8.0 
8.6 
8.6 
15.7 
3.8 
7.6 
4.9 
16.8 

$5  to  $5.  99  

1 

1 
2 

4 
1 
6 
6 
3 

1.5 
1.5 
3.0 
1.5 

$6  to  36.99 

1 
2 
1 

1 
2 

5 

$7  to  $7  99 

4 
1 
1 
3 
3 
5 
6 
5 
15 
3 
5 
5 
13 

$8  to  S3  99 

$9  to  S9  99 

2 

$10  to  $11  99 

2 
5 
3 
4 
3 
9 

"~2~ 
3 

""3" 
2 
1 
2 
2 

3 
12 
5 
7 
9 
4 
2 
8 
3 
16 

2 
4 
3 
2 

7 
2 

2 
9 

"  8 
5 
4 
13 
5 
4 
5 
6 

7 
17 
15 
16 
16 
29 
7 
14 
9 
31 

3.0 
13.4 
12.0 
7.4 
6.0 
19.4 
7.4 
6.0 
7.4 
9.0 

$12  to  S13  99 

2 
2 

$14  to  $15.99 

1 

$16  to  $17  99 

.    1 

$18  to  $19  99 

$20  to  $22  49 

"1 
2 

3 
..... 

1 
2 

$22.50  to  $24  99 

1 

$25  to  $27.49  
$27.50  to  $29.99  
$30  a  iid  o^7e^ 

3 
1 

4 

1 
1 

1 

Total  

39 

74 

15 

80 

9 

21 

4 

10 

167 

2185 

100.0 

100.0 

1  Including- 1  week  worker  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rate  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

2  Including  3  week  workers  for  whom  earnings  but  not  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  be  ascertained. 

JOINERS. 

In  the  dress  and  waist  industry  there  are  two  classes  of  workers 
known  under  the  name  of  joiners.  One  is  the  class  of  operators  who 
join  the  waist  to  the  skirt  and  stitch  the  belt  over  the  two  on  the 


142  BULLETIN   OF    THE   BUREAU   OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

sewing  machine.  The  other  class  of  workers  known  as  joiners  is 
but  one  degree  removed  from  that  of  drapers.  Their  work  consists 
in  joining  the  waist,  skirt,  and  belt  together  on  the  figure  by  means 
of  pins.  They  are  not  supposed  to  do  any  draping  beyond  seeing 
that  the  skirt  hangs  right  from  the  waist  and  that  the  waist  is 
properly  pinned  to  the  skirt  so  as  to  fit  the  figure  uniformly. 

The  source  of  supply  of  joiners  is  dressmakers  and  examinei 
After  joiners  have  attained  sufficient  skill  through  experience,  th< 
are  graduated  into  the  class  of  drapers  and  high-grade  examiners. 

SEX. 

Only  women  are  employed  as  joiners  on  figures.  Machine  or  ope 
ator  joiners  are,  as  a  rule,  women,  though  a  few  men  are  found 
among  this  class  of  workers.  It  was  impossible  to  ascertain  from  the 
pay  rolls  whether  the  joiners  mentioned  there  were  of  one  or  the 
other  class.  The  overwhelming  majority  of  them,  however,  are 
undoubtedly  of  the  class  who  work  on  figures,  though  a  few  may  be 
operators.  This  may  account  for  the  presence  of  11  men  among  the 
total  of  207  joiners  in  1913,  for  whom  information  was  secured. 


WAGES. 


Most  joiners  are  paid  by  the  week,  the  minimum  weekly  rate  of 
wages  under  the  protocol  being  $12.  As  will  be  seen  from  Table  11, 
out  of  207  joiners  for  whom  wages  were  obtained,  only  12  were  found 
to  be  working  by  the  piece. 

The  207  joiners  were  distributed  as  follows  among  three  of  the 
branches  of  the  industry:  Association  A  (lower-grade  garments),  113; 
association  B  (higher-grade  garments),  56;  nonassociation  A,  38. 
The  numbers  are  too  small  to  permit  of  analysis  of  the  percentage 
of  workers  receiving  various  rates  of  wages  in  the  different  branches 
of  the  industry.  Of  the  166  women  joiners  (Table  61)  whose  weekly 
rates  were  obtained,  74,  or  nearly  45  per  cent,  were  in  the  group  in-, 
eluding  the  minimum  protocol  rate  of  $12  a  week;  14,  or  over  8  per 
cent  of  the  total,  received  more  than  the  protocol  rate,  so  that  the 
proportion  of  those  receiving  the.  protocol  rate  and  over  was  53  per 
cent,  or  more  than  one-half  of  the  total. 

Wages  in  1912  and  1913. — Comparing  the  wages  of  joiners  working 
by  the  week  in  1912  and  1913,  a  general  reduction  is  found  in  the  pro- 
portion of  workers  receiving  the  lower  rates  of  wages  and  an  increase 
among  those  receiving  the  higher  rates.  Thus,  the  number  of  female 
workers  receiving  less  than  the  protocol  rate  of  $12  a  week  declined 
from  nearly  56  per  cent  in  1912  to  47  per  cent  in  1913.  Those  in 
the  group  receiving  the  minimum  protocol  rate  increased  from  over 
39  per  cent  to  nearly  45  per  cent;  those  receiving  $14  or  more  in- 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN  DRESS  AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY.     143 


creased  from  less  than  5  per  cent  to  over  8  per  cent,  so  that  the  pro- 
portion of  joiners  receiving  $12  and  over  was  53  per  cent  in  1913  as 
against  more  than  44  per  cent  in  1912.  Table  61,  which  follows, 

;  shows  the  number  of  joiners  receiving  each  classified  rate,  and  Chart 

•  16  presents  the  figures  in  graphic  form. 

.  TABLE  61.— NUMBER  AND    PER    CENT  OF  JOINERS,   WEEK  WORKERS,!   RECEIVING 
EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  SEX. 


Classified  rates  of  wages  per  week,  and 
classes  of  shops. 

Female. 

Male. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

16  to  SS.99                                 

6 
6 
3 
11 
8 
24 
3 

16 
6 
16 
14 
26 
74 
13 
1 

9.8 
9.8 
4.9 
18.1 
13.1 
39.4 
4.9 

9.6 
3.6 
9.6 
8.4 
15.8 
44.6 
7.8 
.6 

$7  to  £7  99 

$8toS3.99...              .             

1 

$9  to  S9.99 

$10  to  §11  99 

2 
1 

1 
1 
1 

$12  to  813.  99           

2 

$14  to  $15  99 

$16  to  $17  99 

$18  to  $19.99                

Total 

261 

3166 

100.0 

100.0 

2 

7 

Association  A  

Workers  in  specified  classes  of  shops. 

30 
30 
1 

79 
54 
33 

1 
2 
4 

Association  B             .             .             .  . 

Nonassociation  A 

2 

1  In  addition  to  the  week  workers  shown  in  this  table  there  were  2  pieceworkers,  female,  in  1912,  and  8  in 
1913,  and  3  pieceworkers,  male,  in  1912  and  4  in  1913. 
8  Not  including  1  for  whom  weekly  rate  of  wages  could  not  be  ascertained. 
» Not  including  22  for  whom  weekly  rates  of  wages  could  not  be  ascertained. 

MARKERS. 

Markers  are  usually  young  girls  who  mark  with  a  pencil  the  spot 
opposite  the  buttonhole  where  the  button  is  to  be  sewed  on  the  waist. 
There  is  no  skill  required  for  this  work  and  any  young  beginner  who 
comes  into  the  factory  may  be  put  to  mark  buttons. 

As  will  be  seen  from  Table  8,  only  18  markers  were  found  on  the 
pay  rolls  of  the  520  shops  during  the  year  1913.  Of  these,  15  were 
girls  and  3  were  boys.  There  were,  no  doubt,  a  great  many  more 
markers  in  the  industry,  but  in  all  probability  they  were  entered  on 
the  pay  rolls  as  cleaners.  This  is  quite  natural,  since  a  girl  will  be 
put  either  on  cleaning  work  or  marking,  according  to  the  needs  of  the 
shop. 

As  will  be  seen  from  Table  62,  the  lowest  wage  which  markers 
received  in  1913  was  $5  to  $5.99  a  week,  as  against  $4  to  $4.99  in  1912. 
Altogether  there  were  only  3  markers  receiving  less  than  $6  a  week 
during  1913,  while  4  received  $10  a  week  or  more,  the  remainder  re- 


144 


BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUEEAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


ceiving  $6  and  less  than  $10  a  week.     Nine  out  of  18,  or  exactly 
one-half,  received  $6  and  less  than  $8  a  week. 

CHART  16.— PER  CENT  OF  JOINERS,  FEMALE  (WEEK  WORKERS),  RECEIV- 
ING EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE  OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK,  1912  AND  1913. 


sol 


50% 


45 


35 


30 


25 


Weekly  Rates  of 
Wa£es  of  Joiners. 

1912 

75/3  


35 


30 


25 


20 


\/ 


0% 


$6 


$0 


$9 


$10 


$12 


$18 


TABTJS  62.— MARKERS,  RECEIVING  EACH  CLASSIFIED  RATE   OF  WAGES  PER  WEEK 

1912  AND  1913,  BY  SEX. 


Classified  rates  of  wages  per  week,  and  classes  of  shops. 

Femal.es. 

Males. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

$4  to  S4.99    . 

2 
1 
2 

1 

$5  to  $5  99 

2 
4 
5 
1 
1 
1 
1 

1 

$6  to  $6.99  

$7  to  $7.99...  . 

$8  to  $8.99.  .  .  . 

$9  to  $9.99  ' 

1 

$10  to  $11.99  

2 

$12  to  $13.99. 

Total  

7 

15 

3 

Association  A  

Workers  in  specified  classes  of  shops. 

6 
1 

12 
1 
2 

3 

Association  B  

Nonassociation  A  

WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.     145 

SLOPERS. 

Slopers  are  assistant  cutters,  whose  work  is  described  under  the 
heading  cutters  (see,  especially,  that  part  entitled  "The  apprenticing 
of  a  cutter,"  "sloping,"  and  "sex"). 

The  wages  of  slopers,  so  far  as  they  have  been  found  designated  as 
such  on  the  pay  rolls,  are  given  in  Table  63. 

TABLE    63.— SLOPERS,    WEEK    WORKERS,    RECEIVING    EACH    CLASSIFIED    RATE    OF 
WAGES  PER   WEEK,  1912  AND  1913,  BY  SEX. 


Classified  rates  of  wages  per  week,  and  classes  of  shops. 

Females. 

Males. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

$6  to  $6  99 

1 

$7  to  $7.99  

1 

1 

$8  to  $8.  99     .                         ... 

1 
4 
2 

59  to  $9  99 

1 
3 
..... 

110  to  $11.99  

2 
3 
4 
1 
3 

$12  to  $13.99                       

8 
2 

$14  to  $15  99 

$16  to  $17  99 

$1£  to  $19  99                                  ...              . 

Total  

9 

6 

11 

13 

Association  -V 

Workers  in  specified  classes  of  shops. 

4 
5 

2 

8 

1 
11 
1 

Association  IJ  .                    ... 

6 

Nonassociation  A 

SUBCONTRACTING  AND  PARTNERSHIPS. 

Article  XV  of  the  protocol  reads  as  follows:  "All  inside  subcon- 
tracting shall  be  abolished."  No  definition  of  subcontracting  is  given 
in  the  protocol. 

Subcontracting  is  practiced,  as  a  rule,  in  shops  in  which  workers 
are  paid  on  a  piece  basis.  Manufacturers  find  it  to  their  advantage 
in  certain  cases  to  allow  their  skilled  workers,  mostly  operators,  to 
employ  assistants  who  are  directly  responsible  to  these  workers  and 
who  receive  their  wages  from  them.  These  assistants  receive  no  official 
recognition  from  the  manufacturer  and  are  not  carried  on  the  pay 
roll  of  the  factory.  They  receive  their  pay  from  the  workers,  who 
employ  them  either  on  a  weekly  basis  or  on  a  basis  of  a  percentage  of 
the  earnings  of  their  employer.  The  latter  method  is  used  only  when 
a  worker  employs  but  one  assistant  of  sufficient  skill  to  be  acceptable 
as  a  partner,  though  not  necessarily  an  equal  partner. 

The  term  subcontracting  does  not  apply  to  partnerships,  by  which 
are  meant  combinations  of  two  workers  of  practically  the  same  skill 
who  divide  their  earnings  equally,  or  nearly  so. 
42132°— Bull.  146—14 10 


146  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

ADVANTAGES  OF  SUBCONTRACTING  TO  MANUFACTURERS. 

The  advantages  of  subcontracting  to  manufacturers  who  maintaii 
such  a  system  in  their  shops  are  as  follows : 

1.  It  reduces  the  work  of  supervision  to  a  minimum;  it  is  easi< 
to  run  a  factory  with,  say,  one  hundred  operators  of  whom  ten  or 
dozen  are  subcontractors  and  the  remaining  number  working  for  th( 
subcontractors  than  it  is  to  have  a  factory  of  the  same  size  where  eacl 
worker  is  subject  to  the  direct  supervision  of  the  manufacturer.     L 
the  former  case,  he  practically  has  10  foremen  who  receive  no  wages  f( 
this  work  of  supervision  and  are  at  the  same  time  responsible  for  the 
work  of  their  respective  teams  or  "sets, "  as  they  are  generally  calle< 
in  the  dress  and  waist  industry. 

2.  It  does  away  with  the  necessity  of  hiring  assistant  foremen 
forewomen  for  the  instruction  of  new  and  inexperienced  help. 

3.  There  is  a  further  saving  in  the  clerical  work  in  the  shop  and  i] 
the  office.     Instead  of  distributing  work  among  a  hundred  worke] 
and  keeping  track  of  them  in  order  to  keep  them  busy,  the  work  is 
now  given  out  to  only  10  people,  leaving  it  to  them  to  look  out  foi 
the  rest.     This  not  only  means  less  distributive  handling  of  the  worl 
by  the  supervisory  and  clerical  force  of  the  establishment,  but 
saves  loss  of  time  on  the  part  of  the  individual  workers  in  the  intei 
vals  when  they  have  completed  their  tasks  and  are  waiting  for 
work,  and  to  that  extent  it  is  a  saving  to  the  manufacturer  in 
number  of  hours  his  plant  is  partly  or  wholly  idle.     This  loss  of  time  is 
common  in  all  shops  to  a  greater  or  less  extent. 

4.  The  problem  of  securing  help  during  the  height  of  the  seasoi 
is  greatly  simplified.     During  this  period  there  is  great  rivalry  a 
manufacturers  to  secure  necessary  help,  causing  much  annoyance 
and  a  great  deal  of  lost  effort  on  the  part  of  the  management.     Undei 
the  subcontracting  system,  the  subcontractors  attend  to  the  hiriru 
of  their  own  help,  and  as  they  are  workmen  themselves  and  mingL 
with  the  working  people,  they  secure  their  assistants  more  readily 
than  the  manufacturer.     Frequently  they  enroll  their  relatives  an< 
personal  friends  and  thereby  secure  more  personal  loyalty  and  steadi- 
ness in  employment  among  their  assistants  than  is  possible  for  th( 
manufacturer. 

5.  In  a  large  number  of  cases,  the  subcontractors  attend  to  th* 
repair  of  the  machines  used  by  their  help  and  thereby  save  the  manu- 
facturer the  cost  of  employing  machinists  or  of  taking  the  time  of  th< 
foreman  for  that  purpose. 

6.  Subcontracting  secures  a  maximum  of  output  from  each  worker. 
As  their  own  earnings  depend  directly  upon  the  output  of  their 
sistants,  it  is  to  the  interest  of  the  subcontractors  to  get  the  greatesl 
possible  output  out  of  them.     This  is  done  in  a  number  of  ways; 
(a)  Extreme  subdivision  of  labor  is  introduced,  each  worker  in  tl 
set  doing  only  a  small  part  of  the  work  in  which  he  quickly  special- 


WAGES   AND  EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.     147 

izes  and  attains  great  speed.  (&)  Under  this  system,  the  subcon- 
tractor, who  is  himself  a  skillful  and  very  rapid  worker,  sets  the  pace 
for  his  assistants,  who  must  keep  up  with  him  in  order  to  keep  him 
supplied  with  the  parts  which  he  needs  for  his  work,  (c)  This  system 
coupled  with  the  fact  that  the  assistants  in  the  sets  are  working  under 
the  very  eye  of  their  employer,  who  is  constantly  with  them,  insures 
an  application  to  their  tasks  and  intensity  of  labor  such  as  can  not 
be  secured  under  any  other  system,  (d)  The  advantages  set  forth 
above  result  in  so  great  an  output  per  worker  that  it  enables  the 
manufacturer  to  reduce  gradually  the  piece  rate  per  garment.  As 
the  assistants  employed  by  the  subcontractors  are  paid  by  the  week, 
they  are  not  concerned  in  this  matter,  so  that  the  manufacturer  meets 
only  with  the  resistance  of  the  few  subcontractors,  if  there  be  any 
1  resistance  at  all,  instead  of  the  workers  of  the  entire  shop.  On  then- 
part,  the  subcontractors  are  not  greatly  inclined  to  resist  such  reduc- 
tions of  pay,  expecting  to  be  able  to  make  up  for  the  loss  by  further 
speeding  up  their  help  and  by  introducing  new  devices  for  increasing 
the  output. 

7.  The  system   of  subcontracting  results   in   an  indirect  saving, 
inasmuch  as  it  does  away  with  the  necessity  of  paying  a  higher  rate 
for  overtime  and  of  paying  wages  to  week  workers  for  certain  holidays, 
since  these  provisions  of  the  protocol,  which  are  generally  enforced 
with  regard  to  wesk  workers  employed  directly  by  the  manufacturers, 
have  not  been  enforced  in  the  case  of  employees  of  subcontractors. 

8.  The  great  increase  in  output  secured  from  each  machine  under 
the  subcontracting  system  results  in  further  savings  to  the  manu- 
facturer, inasmuch  as  the  overhead  expenses  per  garment  are  greatly 
reduced  thereby — first,  through  the  saving  in  the  supervisory  and 
clerical  force  already  mentioned ;  and,  secondly,  through  the  fact  that 
the  total  overhead  expense,  such  as  rent,  power,  wear  and  tear  of 
machinery,   office  expense,   etc.,   is  now  distributed   over  a  much 
larger  number  of  garments  than  would  otherwise  be  possible. 

DISADVANTAGES  OF  SUBCONTRACTING. 

Such  were  the  advantages,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  manu- 
facturer, which  were  responsible  for  the  existence  and  spread  of  the 
subcontracting  system.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  but  natural  that 
the  workers  should  find  it  objectionable,  since  the  speeding  up  was 
frequently  carried  to  a  point  that  injured  their  health.  Through  the 
extreme  subdivision  of  labor  which  this  system  always  carried  with  it, 
it  also  reduced  the  opportunity  for  the  workers  of  learning  the  trade 
sufficiently  to  enable  them  to  be  graduated  into  shops  manufacturing 
a  better  grade  of  garments,  and  thus  made  it  impossible  for  them  to 
work  up  to  a  higher  standard  of  wages. 

The  workers  were  not  the  only  ones  injured  by  the  subcontracting 
system.  The  general  interests  of  the  industry  as  a  whole  were  like- 
wise injured,  for  the  system  prevented  the  new  recruits  in  the  indus- 
try from  becoming  skilled  operators,  without  a  sufficient  supply  of 


148  BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

which  the  industry  in  New  York  can  not  retain  its  commanding  posi- 
tion in  the  growing  market  of  ready-made  high-grade  and  medium- 
grade  women's  dresses  and  waists.     The  fact  that  85  per  cent  of  the 
operators  are  women,  most  of  them  young,  a  very  large  portion  oi 
whom  (roughly  estimated  by  those  in  the  industry  to  amount  to  om 
fifth  of  the  total)  marry  each  year  and  leave  the  industry,  calls  for 
constant  recruiting  of  new  workers  who  must  be  taught  the  trade  oi 
dressmaking  as  it  is  carried  on  in  the  shops.     This  may  have  fui 
nished  one  of  the  reasons  which  prompted  the  association  to  agn 
to  the  demand  of  the  union  in  incorporating  article  15  in  the  protocol 
calling  for  the  abolition  of  all  inside  subcontracting. 

DECLINE  OF  SUBCONTRACTING. 

One  of  the  objects  of  the  present  investigation  was  to  ascertain  the 
extent  to  which  subcontracting  has  been  abolished  or  reduced.  The 
only  source  of  information  was  furnished  by  the  pay  rolls  in  the  shops 
investigated.  The  task,  however,  proved  much  more  difficult  than 
was  at  first  anticipated.  The  difficulty  arises  from  the  fact  that  there 
is  nothing  on  the  pay  rolls  to  indicate  whether  a  worker  has  earned 
the  amount  he  is  credited  with  by  his  own  efforts  or  with  the  assist- 
ance of  others.  The  only  guide  in  this  matter  is  the  amount  of  the 
worker's  earnings.  When  a  worker  appeared  on  the  pay  roll  with 
weekly  earnings  of  $50  or  $100  or  more,  such  a  figure  at  once  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  investigator  and  inquiries  were  made  as  to 
whether  the  worker  is  an  employer  of  additional  labor.  It  happens, 
however,  especially  at  times  when  work  is  more  or  less  slack,  that  the 
combined  earnings  of  a  worker  and  his  assistant  may  be  below  $25 
or,  in  some  instances,  even  below  $20,  and  thus  fail  to  attract  any 
attention.  The  agents  of  the  board  were  instructed  to  inquire  of  the 
manufacturer  or  his  representative  as  to  whether  a  worker  had  assist- 
ants, in  all  cases  where  the  weekly  earnings  exceeded  $20. 

Supplementary  inquiries,  which  were  made  after  the  figures  for  the 
industry  were  tabulated,  disclosed  the  fact  that,  in  some  cases,  cor- 
rect information  was  not  obtained,  so  that  some  of  the  individual 
earnings  of  $20  a  week  and  over  appearing  in  the  tables  as  earnings  of 
individual  workers  may  in  reality  represent  the  earnings  of  two 
partners  or  of  a  worker  with  one  or  more  assistants. 

The  figures  relating  to  subcontracting  are  summed  up  in  Tables  64, 
65,  and  66,  which  are  presented  in  the  following  pages.  Table  64 
gives  the  number  of  sets  found  working  in  1912  and  19]  3,  tabulated 
according  to  the  occupation  of  the  workers  and  the  number  of  workers 
in  each  set,  both  for  the  industry  as  a  whole  and  for  the  association 
and  the  nonassociation  shops  separately.  Table  05  shows  the  num- 
ber of  individual  workers  employed  hi  the  s^ts  tabulated  by  sex,  so  far 
as  known.  Table  66  gives  the  earnings  of  vh-^se  sets  in  the  busiest 
week  of  1912  and  of  1913,  arranged  according  to  occupation,  extent 
of  earnings,  and  character  of  shop. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IX   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.      149 


SIZE  OF  SETS. 

The  " sets''  may  bo  of  three  kinds:  First,  partnerships,  pure  and 
simple,  consisting  of  two  workers  dividing  their  earnings  according 
to  their  respective  skill;  second,  two  partners  employing  one  or  more 
assistants;  third,  one  worker  employing  one  or  more  assistants.  In 
all  cases  of  sets  an  effort  was  made  to  ascertain  the  exact  number  of 
people  employed  in  the  set.,  but  as  the  assistants  are  seldom  entered 
on  the  pay  rolls,  it  was  not  always  possible  to  obtain  the  information. 

TABLE  64.-— NUMBER  AND  COMPOSITION  OF  PARTNERSHIPS  AND  SETS  IN  VARIOUS 
OCCUPATIONS  IN  ASSOCIATION  AND   NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS. 


Occupation  and  year. 

Association  shops. 

Nonassociation  shops. 

Sets  or  teams  having  each  specified  number  of 
persons. 

Sets  or  teams  having 
each  specified  num- 
ber of  persons. 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

12 

14 

15 

17 

is 

20 

35 

-In 

To- 
tal. 

2 

3 

4 

5 

3 

7 

8 

To- 
tal. 

2 
3 

Buttonhole  makers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913.... 
Cleaners: 
Sets  or  teams    1912 

6 

7 

2 
1 

8 
8 

1 

t 

c 

.... 

-- 

1913 

9 

r 

Closers  and  hemmers: 
Sets  or  teams    1912 

4 

4 

1913 

6 

3 

q 

Drapers: 
Sets  or  teams    1912 

1 

1 

^ 

1 

1 

1913 

1 

1 

Finishers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913 

19 
12 

1 

1 

21 
12 

1 

I 

1( 

] 
€ 

• 

a 

7 
12 

Embroiderers: 

1 

1913 

1 

1 

Joiners: 

1 

24 
37 

Ironers  and  pressers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913.... 
Lace  runners: 
Sets  or  teams    1912 

18 
19 

8 
9 

6 
3 

4 

2 
1 

1 

39 
32 

13 

24 

8 
11 

"i 

2 

1 

'i 

1913 

2 

2 

Operators  —  N.  S.: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913  
Body  makers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913  
Skirt  makers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913 

124 
242 

'.0 
68 

15 

22 

33 
17 

5 
5 

2 

10 
4 

3 
2 

1 

4 
1 

i 

1 
1 

2 

.- 

-. 

i 

1 

1 

1 

181 
268 

26 

75 

24 
26 

22 
21 

<> 

45 
112 

1 
20 

5 

8 

1 

3 

8 
8 

""2 

i 
i 

"i 

2 

i 

"i 

I 

1 

•- 

-- 

57 
123 

1 
21 

5 

12 

1 
3 

1 

1 

^ 

1 

3 

1 

1 

1 

Dressmakers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913.... 
Sleeve  makers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913 

17 
18 

2 
6 

1 

2 

2 

1 

i 

1 

1 

1 

1 

? 

8 

1 

1 

1 
7 

Sleeve  setters: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913.... 
Sample  makers: 

3 

7 

1 
2 

4 

1 

9 

6 

1 

- 

• 

-- 

-- 

.... 

ii 

1 

Trimmers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  

1913.... 
Tuckers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913.... 

Total: 
-     Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913  

5 

8 
8 

238 
427 

4 
4 

2 
1 

20 
16 

3 

1 

1 
1 

1 
2 

"i 

-- 

5 

20 
17 

357 
500 

2 
3 

73 

190 

1 

• 

- 

1 

1 
1 

4 
4 

103 
224 

59 
41 

15 
4 

9 
8 

0 

I 

<3 

2  _  , 

1 
2 

"i 

2 
1 

i 

i 

1 

1 
1 

1 

18 
27 

3 
3 

i 

'2 

3 

1 

1 

150 


BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUKEAU   OF   LABOE  STATISTICS. 


TABLE  64.— NUMBER  AND  COMPOSITION  OF   PARTNERSHIPS  AND  SETS  IN  VARIOUS 
OCCUPATIONS  IN  ASSOCIATION  AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS— Concluded. 


Occupation  and  year. 

Total. 

Earnings  (num- 
ber of  persons  in 
sets  unknown). 

Sets  or  teams  having  each  specified  number  of  persons. 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

, 

y 

15 

17 

IS 

. 

35 

15 

No. 
unkn. 

To- 
tal. 

Lowest. 

High- 
est. 

Buttonhole  makers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913  
Cleaners: 
Sets  or  teams  —  1912  .  . 

8 
10 

1 

1 

2 

12 
11 

$55.22 

$69.  48 

1 

1913  

? 

f\ 

Closers  and  hemmers: 
Sets  or  teams  —  1912 

4 

1 

5 
q 

23.79 

1913  .. 

fi 

1 

Drapers: 
Sets  or  teams  —  1912  

0 

1 

3 
4 

58.53 

1913 

3 

1 

Finishers: 
Sets  or  teams  —  1912  
1913  
Embroiderers: 
Sets  or  teams  —  1912  

22 
22 

2 
2 

2 

? 

2 

30 

?4 

44.65 

360.  81 

1 

4 
1 

15 

56.70 

445.  12 
126.  32 

1913 

1 

Joiners: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912.... 

1913 

1 

1 

Ironers  and  pressers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913  
Lace  runners: 
Sets  or  teams  —  1912  

31 
43 

16 

20 

6 
4 

6 

2 
1 

2 

4 

67 

1 

4 

73 

42.93 

81.17 

1913 

? 

9 

Operators—  N.  S.: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913  
Body  makers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913  
Skirt  makers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913  
Dressmakers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913  
Sleeve  makers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913  
Sleeve  setters: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913  
Sample  makers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  

169 
354 

21 

88 

20 
30 

18 
21 

2 
6 

3 
13 

41 
25 

5 
6 

2 
2 

1 
2 

2 

1 
3 

11 

5 

5 
3 

1 

5 
2 

"i 

1 
1 

2 

-. 

-- 

1 

1 

1 

1 

71 
38 

3 

309 
429 

30 
% 

23.55 
30.41 

43.82 

196.40 
118.92 

57.03 

1 

1 
4 

1 

3 
1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 
1 

30 
39 

24 
25 

6 
10 

6 

763.80 
144.90 

77.30 
50.68 

73.28 
4.3.  31 

i 

1 

1 



1 

1 

? 

1 

16 

1913... 

1 

1 

Trimmers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  

1913 

<> 

5 

Tuckers: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913  

Total: 
Sets  or  teams—  1912  
1913  

10 
11 

311 
617 

5 
5 

68 

2 
1 

23 
19 

3 

1 

2 

1 
2 

5 
2 

29 
23 

42.35 
56.20 

126.  82 
120.63 

763.80 
144.90 

1 

19 
6 

5 

a 

3 

1 
2 

'i 

a 

i 

"i 

> 

12 

4 

a 

! 

1 

1 
1 

i 

9€ 

4S 

556 

772 

23.55 
30.41 

1  Including  1  hemstitcher. 

In  many  cases,  the  number  of  people  in  a  set  tad  to  be  estimated 
with  the  aid  of  the  manufacturer  or  the  bookkeeper  on  the  basis  of 
the  earnings  and  his  knowledge  of  the  conditions  prevailing  in  the 
shop.  In  a  number  of  cases,  however,  no  reliable  estimate  could  be 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS  AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.     151 

made,  and  these  sets  are  entered  in  Table  64  in  the  column  headed 
' '  Number  unknown." 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  table,  the  number  of  such  sets  was  96  in 
1912  and  48,  or  exactly  one-half  that  number,  in  1913.  Of  the  48 
sets,  38  were  " operators  not  specified,"  4  were  pressers  and  ironers, 
and  the  remainder  were  operators  of  various  kin'ds,  such  as  tuckers, 
sleeve  makers,  hemstitchers,  etc.  Some  indication  of  the  size  of 
these  sets  may  be  obtained  from  their  earnings,  which  are  given  in 
Table  66. 

As  will  be  seen  from  Table  64,  the  total  number  of  sets  in  the 
industry  increased  from  556  in  1912  to  772  in  1913.  These  two 
numbers  would  seem  to  imply  that  not  only  has  the  provision  of 
the  protocol  for  the  abolition  of  subcontracting  failed  to  be  carried 
out,  but  the  evil  has  grown  in  extent.  As  a  matter  of  fact  such  is 
not  the  case.  An  examination  of  the  figures  in  Table  64  will  dis- 
close the  fact  that  the  increase  occurred  almost  entirely  in  the  num- 
ber of  sets  consisting  of  two  workers,  while  the  number  of  sets  con- 
sisting of  three  workers  or  more  has  been  reduced.  Thus,  in  the 
association  shops  there  were  238  sets  of  two  workers  each  in  1912 
and  427  in  1913.  In  the  nonassociation  shops  the  number  of  those 
sets  was  73  in  1912,  and  190  in  1913.  On  the  other  hand,  the  num- 
ber of  sets  of  three  or  more  was  reduced  from  149  in  1912  to  107  in 
1913.  When  each  group  of  sets  is  taken  up  separately,  it  will  be 
found  that  the  larger  the  number  of  workers  in  the  group  the  greater, 
as  a  rule,  has  been  the  decline  in  the  number  of  such  sets.  Thus, 
taking  the  association  shops  for  an  illustration,  the  number  of  sets 
consisting  of  three  persons  was  reduced  from  59  in  1912  to  41  in  1913; 
sets  consisting  of  4  each  numbered  20  in  1912,  and  16  in  1913;  those 
consisting  of  5  each  numbered  15  in  1912,  and  4  in  1913;  those  con- 
sisting of  6  each  numbered  9  in  1912,  and  3  in  1913,  etc. 

The  increase  in  the  number  of  sets  consisting  of  two  persons  is 
explained  by  the  following  situation:  After  the  adoption  of  the  pro- 
tocol it  was  found  in  a  great  many  cases  that  not  only  was  it  not  prac- 
ticable to  do  away  with  the  "sets,"  but  permission  had  to  be  given 
for  the  introduction  of  the  system  of  operators  with  assistants  in 
shops  where  it  had  not  prevailed  before.  This  happened  in  shops  in 
which  the  piecework  system  was  for  the  first  time  introduced  to  take 
the  place  of  week  work  which  had  prevailed  before  the  signing  of 
the  protocol.  In  these  shops  generally  the  system  of  extreme  sub- 
division of  labor  prevailed,  known  as  the  "section"  system.  The 
introduction  of  the  piecework  system  was  accompanied  by  the  doing 
jaway  with  section  work,  most  of  the  work  being  done  henceforth  by 
the  body  makers,  and  only  certain  parts,  which  represented  distinct 
occupations,  being  left  to  separate  workers,  such  as  sleeve  setting, 


152  BULLETIN   OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 

tucking,  buttonhole  making,  etc.  The  sudden  introduction  of  the 
new  system  threatened  many  of  the  less  skilled  operators,  who  had 
been  accustomed  to  section  work,  with  the  loss  of  their  positions, 
since  they  were  unable  to  do  "body  making."  To  prevent  this 
hardship  to  many  workers  and  to  enable  the  manufacturer  at  the 
same  time  to  train  his  employees  gradually  to  the  new  system,  the 
union  officials  joined  the  officials  of  the  association  in  granting  per- 
mission in  such  instances  for  the  temporary  introduction  of  the 
subcontracting  system,  under  which  the  less  skilled  workers  were 
enabled  to  remain  in  those  factories  as  assistants  to  skilled  operators? 
receiving  their  pay  from  these  operators.  Under  this  arrangement, 
the  boss  of  the  "set"  becomes  the  instructor  of  his  employees  and 
derives  his  compensation  for  the  services  thus  performed  in  the 
profit  he  makes  on  the  work  of  his  assistants. 

Looking  at  the  figures  in  Table  64  for  1913,  it  will  be  observed  that 
by  far  the  largest  number  of  sets  occurs  in  the  occupation  of  "opera- 
tors not  specified"  in  which  there  were  268  in  the  association  shops 
and  123  in  the  nonassociation  shops.  If  to  these  be  added  the  sets 
entered  under  "buttonhole  makers,"  "closers  and  hemmers,"  "lace 
runners,"  "skirt  operators,"  "waist  operators,"  "dress  operators," 
"sample  makers,"  "sleeve  makers,"  "sleeve  setters,"  "trimmers," 
and  "tuckers,"  all  of  whom  are  operators  in  the  sense  of  operating 
sewing  machines,  it  will  be  found  that  the  combined  occupation  of 
operators  totaled  666  sets.  The  other  sets  were  distributed  among 
the  following  occupations:  "Ironers  and  pressers,"  of  whom  there 
were  32  sets  in  the  association  shops  and  37  in  the  nonassociation 
shops  in  1913,  as  compared  with  39  and  24,  respectively,  in  1912; 
"finishers,"  of  whom  there  were  12  sets  in  the  association  shops,  all 
consisting  of  two  workers  each,  and  in  the  nonassociation  shops  12 
sets,  of  which  10  consisted  of  two  workers  each  and  2  of  three  workers 
each.  Those  interested  in  further  details  as  to  the  distribution  of  sets 
by  occupations  and  by  the  number  of  people  in  a  set  are  referred  to 
Table  64. 

SEX  OF  WORKERS  IN  SETS. 

Table  65,  which  follows,  gives  the  sex  of  the  workers  employed  in 
s.'ts,  so  far  as  it  could  be  ascertained. 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS  AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY.     15$ 
TABLE  65 — SEX   OF   EMPLOYEES   WORKING   IN  PARTNERSHIPS  AND 'SETS. 


Occupation  and 
year. 

Association  shops. 

Nonassociation  shops. 

Total. 

Number  of  persons. 

Num- 
)er  of 
sets. 

Number  of  persons. 

Num- 
ber of 
sets. 

Number  of  persons. 

Num- 
ber of 
sets. 

M. 

F. 

Sex 
un- 
known. 

To- 
tal. 

M. 

\ 

F. 

Sex 
un- 
Imown. 

To- 
tal. 

M. 

F. 

Sex 
un- 
known. 

To- 
tal. 

Buttonhole  mak- 
ers: 
1912  
1913 

10 

8 

.... 

1 
4 

8 
8 

1 

18 
17 

2 
4 

8 
24 

2 
10 

45 
24 

15 
14 

8 
8 

1 
2 

4 
9 

1 

4 

21 
12 

1 
1 

.... 

I 

4 
6 

2 
3 

12 
12 

.... 

1 

4 

10 
10 

1 

22 
23 

2 

4 

8 
24 

4 
10 

70 
50 

15 
14 

10 
11 

1 
2 

4 
9 

2 
4 

28 
24 

1 
1 

Cleaners: 
1912  
1913 

Closers  and  he  m- 
iners: 
1912 

4 

4 
15 

1 

2 

9 
12 

14 
13 

4 

4 
15 

2 
2 

22 
12 

14 
13 

1913 

gl 

9 

Drapers: 
.1912        

1 

35 
12 

1 
1 

... 

1 

1 

2 

1 

1 

2 

7 

47 
38 

i 
i 

1913 

1 
1 

Finishers: 
1912 

... 

12 

26 

13 

25 
26 

12 

1913 

Embroiderers: 
1912 

1913 

Joiners: 
1912 

1913 

? 

2 

67 
93 

1 

24 
37 

« 

190 
176 

1 

63 
69 

Ironers  and  press- 
ers: 
1912      .  .  . 

39 
37 

4 
2 

80 
44 

123 
83 

39 
32 

37 
40 

4 

26 

48 

76 

77 

i 

106 
92 

1913 

L«:e  runners: 
1912 

1913 

1 

102 
138 

27 
34 

23 
20 

20 
11 

1 

{ 

1 

99 
192 

15 
64 

10 

20 
16 

( 

369 
252 

18 
72 

51 
35 

26 
60 

1( 

4 

570 
582 

60 
170 

84 
62 

66 

'  77 

16 

22 

( 

20 

2 

181 
268 

26 
75 

24 
26 

22 
21 

i 

{ 

1 

145 
228 

28 
46 

27 

36 

20 
12 

| 

1^ 

i 

146 

289 

16 

80 

11 

21 

18 

2 

6 

fi 
6 

413 
328 

18 

87 

56 
50 

1 

9 

12 

j 

15 

704 
845 

62 
213 

94 

93 

68 
83 

16 
25 

13 
35 

2 

238 

391 

27 
% 

29 
38 

23 
24 

5 
9 

5 

16 

Operators,     not 
specified: 
1912       

43 

90 

1 

12 

4 

16 

..... 

47 
97 

1 
16 

1 
1 

44 
76 

134 

263 

'    If 

0 

10 
31 

j 

.      6 

57 
123 

21 
12 

1913 

Body  makers: 
1912 

1913 

15 

I 

15 

1 

3 

Skirt  makers: 
1912 

1913     

Dressmakers  : 
1912  

1913  
Sleeve  makers: 
1912 

1913 

1 

-a 

6 

] 

2 

3 

'  4 

15 

Bleeve  setters: 
1912 

1913  

'  \ 

Sample  makers: 
1912  

1913  
Trimmers: 
1912  

2 

1913  
Tuckers: 
1912  
1913  

21 
19 

25£ 
29c 

28 

48 
34 

10 

T 
81 

1,09£ 
1,20' 

20 
17 

4 

5 

93 
175 

11 

a 

15 
9 

"  < 

25 
24 

348 
470 

J> 

8 
29 

59 
37 

92 
90 

24 
21 

Total: 
1912... 
1913... 

199 
348 

641 
564 

357 

•    500 

69 
151 

103 
171 

265 
497 

103 
224 

268 
499 

744 
735 

1.360 
1,704 

460 
724 

•  As  will  be  seen  from  tlie  figures  for  1913,  out  of  1,704  persons 
known  to  have  been  employed  in  the  sets,  470  were  men  and  499  were 
women,  the  sex  of  the  remaining  735  workers,  who  numbered  nearly 
one-half  of  the  total,  being  unknown.  The  women  are  thus  seen  to 
be  in  a  majority  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  in  most  instances  the  heads 


154 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


of  sets  are  men.     Were  the  sex  of  the  remaining  workers  ascertainabl* 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  women  would  have  been  found  greatly 
outnumber  the  men. 

EARNINGS  OF  SETS. 

Table  66,  which  follows,  shows  the  number  of  sets  in  the  differei 
occupations  earning  certain  amounts  during  the  busiest  week  in  191! 
and  in  1913,  both  in  the  association  and  the  nonassociation  shops. 

TABLE    66.— NUMBER    OF   SETS    IN    VARIOUS    OCCUPATIONS    EARNING    CLASSIFD 
AMOUNTS    OF  WAGES  IN  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  IN  1912  AND  IN  1913  IN  ASSOCIATIO1 
AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS. 

ASSOCIATION  SHOPS. 


Occupation  and  year. 

Un- 
der 
$20 

$20 
to 

$29 

$30 
to 
$39 

$40 
to 
$49 

$50 
to 

$59 

$60 
to 
$69 

$70 
to 

$79 

$80 
to 

$89 

$90 
to 
$99 

$100 
to 
$199 

$200 
to 
$299 

$300 

and 
over. 

Total. 

Buttonhole  makers: 
Sets—  1912  

2 

2 

2 

1 

1 

. 

1913 

1 

4 

2 

i 

8 

Cleaners: 
gets—  1912 

1 

1913  

1 

i 

2 

Closers  and  hemmers: 
Sets—  1912  

2 

2 

4 

1913  

1 

2 

2 

3 

1 

9 

Drapers: 
Sets—  1912  

1 

, 

1913  .  .  . 

1 

2 

•« 

4 

Finishers: 
Sets—  1912  

5 

10 

4 

2 

a 

1913  

1 

10 

i 

1? 

Embroiderers: 
Sets  —  1912  

1 

, 

1913  

1 

Joiners: 
Sets—  1912  

1913  

Ironers  and  pressers: 
Sets—  1912  

1 

2 

4 

4 

5 

3 

5 

5 

9 

1 

m 

1913  .  .  . 

3 

6 

7 

5 

2 

2 

1 

j 

• 

32 

Lar«?  runners: 
Sets—  1912  

1913  

2 

2 

Operators—  N.  S.: 
Sets—  1912  

5 

29 

47 

47 

17 

11 

5 

4 

4 

8 

2 

2 

»: 

1913  

8 

45 

89 

70 

29 

13 

5 

2 

7 

268 

Body  makers: 
Sets—  1912  

2 

4 

10 

5 

3 

1 

1 

» 

1913  

3 

25 

29 

10 

4 

3 

1 

75 

Skirt  makers: 
Sets—  1912  .. 

3 

g 

4 

1 

1 

1 

2 

4 

2 

I 

1913  

2 

1 

7 

6 

3 

2 

3 

2 

3«  • 

Dressmakers: 
Sets—  1912  

1_ 

2 

5 

6 

2 

1 

1 

4 

» 

1913  

3* 

2 

5 

7 

1 

1 

1 

31 

21 

Sleeve  makers: 
Sets—  1912  

2 

1 

1 

5 

1913  

2 

2 

2 

1 

1 

8 

Sleeve  setters: 
Sets—  1912  

1 

1 

4 

1913  

3 

3 

2 

1 

9 

Sample  makers: 
Sets—  1912  

1913  

-•  .  •• 

1 

1 

Trimmers: 
Sets—  1912  

1913  

1 

4 

Tuckers: 
Sets—  1912  

2 

2 

4 

2 

2 

1 

1 

5 

1 

20 

1913  

1 

2 

3 

1 

3 

1 

3 

1 

4  1 

17 

Total: 
Sets—  1912  . 
1913. 

15 
21 

53 
91 

83 
154 

75 
115 

34 
50 

22 
29 

15 
9 

12 

7 

8 
6 

32 
14 

6 
1 

2 
3 

"57 
500 

2  $537.92  and  $644.87. 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN  DRESS  AND' WAIST  INDUSTRY.     155 


TABLE  66.— NUMBER    OF    SETS    IN    VARIOUS    OCCUPATIONS    EARNING    CLASSIFIED 
AMOUNTS  OF  WAGES  IN   THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  IN  1912  AND  IN  1913  IN  ASSOCIATION 
.  AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS-Continued. 

NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS. 


Occupation  and  year. 

Un- 
der 
$20 

$20 
to 
829 

$30 
to 
$39 

$40 
to 
$49 

$50 

to 
$59 

$60 
to 
569 

870 
to 
$79 

$80 
to 
$89 

$90 
to 
$99 

$100 
to 
$199 

S200 
to 
S299 

S300 
and 
over. 

Total. 

Buttonhole  makers: 
gets—  1912  

1 

2 

1913 

1 

1 

1 

3 

Cleaners: 
Sets—  1912  

1913  

Closers  and  hemmers: 
Sets—  1912  

1913  

Drapers: 
Sets—  1912  

l 

1 

1913 

Finishers: 
gets—  1912  

1 

2 

2 

1 

7 

1913 

3 

6 

3 

12 

Embroiderers: 
Sets—  1912  .. 

1913  

Joiners: 
Sets—  1912 

1913  

1 

1 

Ironers  and  pressers: 
Sets—  1912  

2 

6 

4 

3 

2 

1 

2 

1 

3 

24 

1913 

2 

14 

6 

3 

2 

3 

2 

37 

Lace  runners: 
'     Sets—  1912  

1913 

Operators—  N.  S.: 
Sets  —  1912 

5 

12 

23 

7 

5 

1 

1 

3 

57 

1913 

4 

24 

50 

25 

10 

g 

1 

1 

2 

123 

Body  makers: 
gets  —  1912 

1 

1 

1913   .. 

1 

8 

« 

5 

1 

21 

Skirt  makers: 
Sets    1912 

1 

1 

1 

2 

5 

1913.    . 

1 

1 

1 

9 

5 

1 

1 

12 

Dressmakers: 
gets—  1912.. 

1 

1913 

•4 

3 

Sleeve  makers: 
gets—  1912  . 

1913 

1 

1 

Sleeve  setters: 
gets  —  1912 

1 

1 

1913 

2 

4 

1 

7 

Sample  makers: 
Sets    1912 

1913 

Trimmers: 
Sets—  1912 

1913 

Tuckers: 
gets  —  1912 

1. 

1 

1 

1 

4 

1913 

•     i 

2 

1 

4 

•  " 

Total: 
Sets    1912 

0 

19 

33 

14 

13 

4 

3 

n 

2 

7 

103 

1913. 

8 

45 

83 

37 

22 

15 

4 

1 

4 

4 

1 

224 

TOTAL. 


Buttonhole  makers; 
Sets    1912 

2 

2 

3 

1 

1 

1 

10 

1913 

2 

3 

1 

11 

Cleaners: 
gets  —  1912 

1 

1 

1913 

1 

1 

2 

Closers  and  hemmers: 
Sets    1912 

2 

2 

4 

1913 

1 

2 

2 

3 

i 

9 

Drapers: 
Sets    1912 

1 

1 

2 

1913  .  .  . 

1 

2 

1 

4 

156 


BULLETIN   OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  66.-NUMBER  OF  SETS  IN  VARIOUS  OCCUPATIONS  EARNING  CLASSIFIE1 
AMOUNTS  OF  WAGES  IN  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  IN  1912  AND  IN  1913  IN  ASSOCIATIO] 
AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS— Concluded. 

TOTAL— Concluded . 


Occupation  and  year. 

Un- 
der 
$20 

$20 
to 
$29 

$30 
to 
$39 

$40 
to 
$49 

$50 
to 
$59 

$00 
to 
$69 

$70 
to 
$79 

$80 
to 

$89 

$90 
to 
$99 

$100 
to 
S199 

$200 
to 
$299 

$300 
and 
over. 

Total 

Finishers: 
Sets    1912 

6 

12 

4 

1 

4 

1 

28 

1913      . 

4 

16 

3 

1 

24 

Embroiderers: 
Sets  —  1912  .  . 

1 

1 

1913 

1  1 

1 

Joiners: 
Sets    1912 

1913  

1 

j 

Ironers  and  pressers: 
gets_  1912  

1 

4 

10 

8 

8 

5 

6 

7 

1 

12 

1 

63 

1913 

2 

22 

11 

13 

8 

4 

2 

4 

3 

(59 

Lace  runners: 
gets  —  1912  . 

1913  

2 

2 

Operators—  N.  S.: 
Sets    1912 

10 

41 

70 

54 

22 

12 

5 

4 

5 

11 

2 

22 

238 

1913     . 

12 

69 

139 

95 

39 

19 

5 

; 

1 

9 

391 

Body  makers: 
gets—  1912... 

2 

5 

10 

5 

3 

1 

1 

27 

1913.  

4 

33 

35 

15 

5 

3 

1 

96 

Skirt,  makers: 
Sets    1912 

4 

5 

3 

1 

l 

2 

4 

2 

29 

1913   .. 

2 

2 

8 

7 

5 

7 

1 

3 

2 

38 

Dressmakers: 
Sets—  1912  

1 

2 

6 

6 

2 

1 

1 

4 

23 

1913 

3 

2 

8 

7 

1 

1 

i 

31 

24 

Sleeve  makers: 
gets  —  1912     . 

2 

1 

i 

5 

1913... 

2 

2 

2 

j 

1 

1 

9 

Sleeve  setters: 
gets—  1912...  . 

1 

1 

1 

i 

1913 

5 

7 

2 

1 

1 



16 

Samnle  makers: 
Sets—  1912 

1913  

1 

1 

Trimmers: 
Sets—  1912... 

1913 

1 

4 

Tuckers: 
gets  —  1912  . 

1 

3 

2 

5 

2 

2 

i 

1 

6 

1 

24 

1913  

2 

2 

3 

3 

4 

1 

3 

1 

<1 

21 

'   Total: 
Sets—  1912  . 
1913. 

21 
29 

72 
136 

116 
237 

89 
152 

47 
72 

26 
44 

18 
13 

14 

8 

10 
10 

39 
18 

6 
2 

3 

460 
724 

No  definite  conclusions  can  be  drawn  from  these  figures,  their  chief 
value  being  that  they  furnish  an  indication  of  the  size  of  the  financial 
operations  of  the  subcontractors  and  the  changes  that  have  occurred 
therein  since  the  enactment  of  the  protocol.  From  this  point  of 
view,  it  is  significant  to  note  in  association  shops  the  decline  in  the 
number  of  sets  earning  $200  or  more  from  8  to  4,  and  of  those  earning 
from  $100  to  $200  from  32  to  14,  while  the  number  has  increased 
among  those  earning  under  $20  from  15  to  21;  among  those  earning 
from  $20  to  $29,  from  53  to  91,  and  among  those  earning  from  $30  to 
$39,  from  83  to  154,  etc.  The  increase  in  the  number  of  sets  earning 
less  than  $70  a  week  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  great  increase  in  the 
number  of  sets  consisting  of  two  workers  each,  while  the  reduction  in 
the  number  of  sets  earning  from  $70  a  week  up  is  due  to  the  falling 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN  DRESS  AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY.     157 

off  in  the  number  of  large  sets.     A  similar  tendency  is  observed  in 
the  non  association  shops. 

REGULARITY  OF  EMPLOYMENT. 

As  already  explained,  the  wages  given  in  this  report  are  for  the 
busiest  week  of  the  year. 

These  figures  are  of  no  value,  however,  as  an  indication  of  the 
annual  earnings  of  the  men  and  women  employed  in  the  industry, 
unless  it  is  known  to  what  extent  they  are  employed  throughout  the 
year.  For  the  dress  and  waist  industry,  like  other  garment  indus- 
tries, fluctuates  with  the  seasons,  and  very  few  workers  are  employed 
regularly  throughout  the  year. 

The  reasons  why  earnings  of  individual  workers  could  not  be 
obtained  for  a  whole  year  are  explained  at  length  on  page  39  and 
need  not  be  repeated  here.  In  order  to  ascertain  the  extent  to  which 
the  factories  are  busy  throughout  the  year,  and  thereby  lay  a  founda- 
tion for  an  approximate  estimate  of  the  annual  earnings  of  the 
workers  in  the  industry,  the  following  method  was  employed:  The 
total  wages  paid  out  each  week  during  the  year  1912  and  the  number 
of  workers  employed  during  those  weeks  were  copied  from  the  pay 
rolls  of  the  factories  investigated.  As  in  the  case  of  the  wages  for 
the  busiest  week,  the  wages  paid  to  designers,  foremen,  forewomen, 
and  office  help,  so  far  as  possible,  were  eliminated. 

Table  67,  which  follows,  shows  for  each  week  of  the  year  1912  the 
number  of  employees  in  each  branch  of  the  industry  and  the  total 
number  in  the  260  shops  covered,  and  the  per  cent  that  the  total 
number  each  week  is  of  the  number  in  the  week  showing  maximum 
number  employed.  Table  68  shows  the  aggregate  wages  paid  each 
week  and  the  per  cent  these  are  of  the  maximum  amount  paid  in 
any  week.  These  figures  are  given  for  each  of  the  four  branches  into 
which  the  industry  has  been  divided,  i.  e.:  (1)  Association  shops 
manufacturing  low-grade  garments,  designated  as  association  A; 
(2)  Non  association  A,  i.  e.,  nonassociation  shops  manufacturing  low- 
grade  garments;  (3)  Association  B,  including  shops  manufacturing 
high-grade  garments;  (4)  Nonassociation  B,  manufacturing  high- 
grade  garments ;  and  finally  (5)  for  the  industry  as  a  whole. 


158 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  67 NUMBER  OF  PERSONS  EMPLOYED  IN  260  SHOPS  IN  THE  DRESS  AND  WAIST 

INDUSTRY   IN   1912. 


Week. 

Number. 

Total. 

Group  A. 

Group  B. 

Associa- 
tion shops. 

Nonassoci- 
ation  shops. 

Associa- 
tion shops. 

Nonassoci- 
ation  shops. 

Number. 

Per  cent 

(busiest 
week= 
100).  * 

1                                 

7,990 
8,198 
8,433 
8,751 
9,232 
9,482 
9,926 
10,  250 
10,  619 
10,  795 
10,846 
10,964 
10,896 
10,290 
10,298 
10,320 
10,  272 
10,  017 
9,894 
9,622 
9,249 
9,201 
9,128 
9,193 
9,021 
8,372 
7,046 
6,  085 
5,550 
5,608 
5,905 
6,671 
7,505 
8,295 
8,904 
7,644 
7,639 
7,735 
7,800 
7,906 
7,  955 
8,105 
7,441 
7,084 
6,524 
6,418 
6,214 
6,011 
6,100 
6,075 
6,2€0 
6,065 

697 
787 
859 
934 
1,034 
972 
1,025 
1,144 
1.141 
1,183 
1,218 
1,  227 
,201 
,135 
,134 
,113 
,166 
,151 
,120 
,086 
,002 
,011 
,028 
.002 
'988 
862 
775 
611 
512 
512 
596 
656 
908 
962 
1,015 
399 
372 
382 
428 
373 
370 
382 
368 
357 
323 
295 
296 
268 
225 
250 
277 
260 

5,704 
6,266 
6,553 
6,940 
7,213 
7,469 
7,791 
7,822 
8,010 
8,017 
8,033 
7,916 
7,818 
7,496 
7,496 
7,328 
7,154 
6,968 
6,743 
6,455 
6,225 
5,976 
5,894 
5,995 
5,647 
5.008 
4,224 
3,871 
3,989 
4,751 
5,648 
6,  347 
6,906 
7,267 
7.365 
9,262 
9,030 
9,426 
9,653 
9,759 
9,886 
10,002 
9,778 
9,326 
8,968 
8,736 
8,685 
8,567 
9,027 
9,206 
9,272 
8,981 

159 
192 
345 
335 
370 
406 
404 
417 
413 
414 
424 
417 
459 
392 
370 
384 
382 
342 
321 
338 
285 
321 
300 
324 
305 
272 
247 
249 
253 
276 
280 
271 
358 
364 
402 
1,058 
1,066 
1,  117 
1,149 
1,  161 
1,177 
1,197 
1,108 
1,024 
954 
979 
1,183 
1,021 
982 
1,073 
1,070 
984 

14,550 
15,  443 
16,  190 
16,960 
17,849 
18,329 
19,  146 
19,633 
20,  183 
20,409 
20,521 
20,  524 
20,374 
19,313 
19,  298 
19,  145 
18,974 
18,  478 
18,  078 
17,501 
16,  761 
16,  509 
16,  350 
16,514 
15,961 
14,514 
12,  292 
10,816 
10,304 
11,147 
12,429 
13,  945 
15,  677 
16,888 
17,686 
18,  363 
18,  107 
18,  6CO 
19,  030 
19,  199 
19,388 
19,  686 
18,  695 
17,791 
16,  769 
16,428 
16,  378 
15,  867 
16,334 
16,604 
16,879 
16,290 

98 
99 
100 
100 
99 
94 
94 
93 
92 
90 
88 
85 
82 
80 
80 
80 
78 
71 
60 
53 
50 
54 
61 
68 
76 
82 
86 
89 
88 
91 
93 
94 
94 
96 
91 
87 
82 
80 
80 
77 
80 
81 
82 
79 

2                                                    

3                                  

4                                                 

5                           

6                                        

7                                             ... 

g 

9                                           

10 

11                                        

I'7 

13                                

14                                               

15 

10                                        

17 

18 

1$                                                  

20 

21                                    

22 

23  

24                                                  .   -- 

25 

26          

27 

28  

29              ...                      

30 

31  

32 

33  

34  

35 

36  

37  

33 

39  

40  

41 

42  

43  

44 

45  

46  

47- 

48 

49  

50  .   . 

51 

52  

Total  

889  159 

Average 

17,100 

S3.  3 

i  The  busiest  week  means  the  week  having  the  maximum  number  of  employees.  The  figures  in  this 
column  indicate  the  percentage  which  the  number  of  employees  each  week  constituted  of  the  number 
of  employees  in  the  busiest  week  of  the  year. 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.      159 


68.— AMOUNT    OF    WAGES    PAID    IN    260    SHOPS    OF    THE     DRESS    AND    WAIST 
INDUSTRY   IN    1912. 


Week. 

Wages. 

Per  cent 
(busiest  week=100).1 

Aver- 
age 
weekly 
wage 
per  em- 
ployee. 

Group  A. 

Group  B. 

Total 
for  the 
industry. 

Group  A.    j    Group  B. 

To- 
tal. 

Associa- 
tion 
shops. 

Nonasso- 
ciation 
shops. 

Associa- 
tion 
shops. 

Nonasso- 
ciation 
shops. 

Asso- 
cia- 
tion 
shops. 

Non- 
asso- 
cia- 
tion 
shops. 

Asso- 
cia- 
tion 
shops. 

Non- 

asso- 
cia- 
tion 
shops. 

$70,  100 
80,464 
85,830 
92,555 
98.  272 
102,  949 
109,  959 
115,  652 
124,  085 
127,  342 
127,  850 
129,  018 
125,  223 
100,318 
105,  556 
110,020 
112,  467 
104,383 
100,280 
96,123 
91.061 
86,  579 
91,821 
93,  471 
89,  335 
81,026 
59,  793 
51,  732 
48,  473 
50,  898 
54,  477 
63,551 
73,  276 
83,809 
95,  116 
80,076 
76,047 
87,923 
94,  776 
94,  462 
94,882 
89,188 
85,534 
79,049 
68,  186 
68,  872 
64,844 
57,  267 
61,616 
63,897 
64,  065 
57,  594 

$5,  526 
7,046 
7,598 
8,975 
10,  175 
10,313 
10,  675 
11,292 
12,713 
13,033 
14,  068 
13,  579 
12,  688 
10,  575 
11,  173 
11,908 
11,925 
11,  597 
10,  777 
10,  695 
8,921 
9,753 
10,411 
10,114 
9,497 
7,381 
6,118 
4,615 
3,813 
4,204 
5,151 
5,707 
8,443 
9,537 
10,  675 
4,128 
3,694 
,374 
,384 
,621 
,269 
,503 
,035 
3,580 
3,141 
2,970 
2,963 
2,558 
2,475 
2,425 
2,339 
2,014 

$53,640 
64,287 
68,841 
75,  852 
80,107 
85,069 
88,056 
90,636 
99,246 
99,652 
98,  757 
97,  846 
94,  828 
80,182 
80,746 
82,  191 
75,  413 
73,889 
71,103 
67,  973 
63,912 
57,558 
62,  154 
62,  748 
57,  559 
50,296 
37,  451 
36,  528 
39,  235 
47,  693 
52,  919 
66,271 
73,  964 
80,  485 
86,409 
97,040 
81,113 
94,  324 
105,  315 
104,  255 
108,  907 
110,  458 
101,692 
95,908 
86,  024 
86,903 
85,020 
80,086 
89,  165 
92,  208 
93,922 
82,091 

$1,218 
1,801 
3,280 
3,291 
3,828 
4,175 
4,282 
4,349 
4,570 
4,954 
4,819 
4,734 
4,212 
3,508 
3,796 
3,934 
3,790 
2,566 
3,475 
3,326 
3,011 
2,973 
2,998 
3,154 
3,143 
2,703 
2,197 
2,404 
2,628 
2,495 
2,832 
2,807 
3,639 
3,971 
3,767 
10,  727 
9,665 
10.844 
11,521 
11,813 
12,  751 
12,477 
10,887 
9,578 
8,385 
9,008 
9,475 
9,217 
9,199 
10,  470 
10,  136 
9,128 

$130,  484 
153,  598 
165,549 
180,  673 
192,382 
202,  506 
212,  972 
221,929 
240,614 
244,981 
245,  494 
245,  177 
236,  951 
194,583 
201,271 
208,  053 
203,595 
192,  435 
185,635 
178,117 
166,905 
156.863 
167,  384 
169,  487 
159,  534 
141,406 
105,559 
95,279 
94,  149 
105,290 
115,  379 
138,  336 
159,  322 
177/802 
195,  967 
191,  971 
170,519 
197,  465 
215,  996 
215,  151 
220,809 
216,  626 
202,  148 
188,  115 
165,  736 
167,  753 
162,  302 
149,  128 
162,  455 
169,000 
176,  462 
150,  827 

54 
62 
67 

72 
76- 
80 
85 
90 
96 
99 
99 
100 
97 
78 
82 
85 
87 
81 
76 
75 
71 
67 
71 
72 
69 
63 
46 
40 
38 
39 
42 
49 
57 
65 
74 
62 
59 
68 
73 
73 
74 
69 
66 
61 
53 
53 
50 
44 
48 
50 
50 
45 

39 
50 
54 
64 
72 
73 
76 
80 
90 
93 
100 
97 
90 
75 
79 
85 
85 
82 
77 
76 
63 
69 
74 
72 
68 
52 
43 
33 
27 
30 
37 
41 
60 
68 
76 
29 
26 
31 
31 
33 
30 
32 
29 
25 
22 
21 
21 
18 
18 
17 
17 
14 

49 
58 
62 
69 
73 
77 
80 
82 
90 
90 
89 
89 
86 
73 
73 
74 
68 
67 
64 
62 
58 
52 
56 
57 
52 
46 
34 
33 
36 
43 
48 
60 
67 
73 
78 
88 
73 
85 
95 
94 
99 
100 
92 
87 
78 
79 
77 
73 
81 
83 
85 
74 

10 
14 
26 
26 
30 
33 
34 
34 
36 
39 
38 
37 
33 
28 
30 
31 
30 
20 
27 
26 
24 
23 
24 
25 
25 
21 
17 
19 
21 
20 
22 
22 
29 
31 
30 
84 
76 
85 
90 
93 
100 
98 
85 
75 
66 
71 
74 
72 
72 
82 
79 
72 

53 
63 
67 
74 
78 
82 
87 
90 
98 
100 
100 
100 
97 
79 
82 
85 
83 
78 
76 
73 
68 
64 
68 
69 
65 
58 
43 
39 
38 
43 
47 
56 
65 
72 
80 
78 
69 
80 
88 
88 
90 
88 
82 
77 
68 
68 
66 
61 
66 
69 
69 
61 

$8.97 
9.95 
10.23 
10.65 
10.78 
11.05 
11.12 
11.30 
11.92 
12.00 
11.96 
11.95 
11.63 
10.08 
10.43 
10.87 
10.73 
10.41 
10.27 
10.18 
9.96 
9.50 
10.24 
10.26 
10.00 
9.74 
8.59 
8.81 
9.14 
9.45 
9.28 
9.92 
10.16 
10.53 
11.08 
10.45 
9.42 
10.58 
11.35 
11.21 
11.39 
11.00 
10.81 
10.57 
9.88 
10.21 
9.91 
9.40 
9.93 
10.18 
10.10 
9.26 

i;E: 



-  ......... 

.......... 



Total  
Averages  . 

4,521,142 

389,  144 

4,097,927 

293,911 

9,302,124 

67 

53 

71 

44 

73 

10.46 

1  The  busiest  week  in  each  of  these  columns  means  the  week  in  which  the  maximum  amount  of  wages 
was  paid.  The  figures  in  this  column  indicate  the  percentage  which  the  wages  each  week  constituted 
of  the  wages  in  the  busiest  week  of  the  year. 


160 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


Table  69  which  follows  summarizes  for  the  industry  the  figures 
presented  in  the  two  preceding  tables  and  adds  two  columns  show- 
ing the  per  cent  of  employees  and  of  wages  for  each  week  as  com- 
pared with  the  averages  for  the  year: 

TABLE  69.— FLUCTUATIONS    OF    EMPLOYMENT    AND    WAGES    IN    THE    DRESS    AND 
WAIST  INDUSTRY  FOR   1912. 


0 

Week. 

Number  of 
employees. 

Amount  of 
wages  paid 
out. 

Per  cent  (busiest 
week  =100).i 

Per  cent  (average 
for  year  =100).  2 

Em- 
ployees. 

Wages. 

Em- 
ployees. 

Wages. 

1                                                      

14,550 
15,443 
16,  ICO 
16,  960 
17,849 
18,329 
19,  146 
19,633 
20,183 
20,409 
20,521 
20,524 
20,374 
19,313 
19,298 
19,  145 
18,974 
18,478 
18,078 
17,501 
16,  761 
16,509 
16,350 
16,514 
15,961 
14,514 
12,202 
10,816 
10,304 
11,147 
12,429 
13,945 
15,677 
16,888 
17,686 
18,363 
18,107 
18,660 
19,030 
19,  1C9 
19,388 
19,686 
18,695 
17,  791 
16,  769 
16,428 
16,378 
15,867 
"N.     16,364 
16,604 
16,879 
16,2CO 

$130,484 
153,  5C8 
165,549 
180,  673 
192,382 
202,  506 
212,972 
221,929 
240,  614 
244,681 
245,494 
245,  177 
236,951 
194,583 
201,271 
208,053 
203,595 
192,435 
185,635 
178,  117 
166,  805 
156,863 
167,  384 
169,487 
159,  534 
141,406 
105,559 
95,279 
94,149 
105,  2CO 
115,379 
138,336 
159,322 
177,802 
195,967 
191,971 
170,519 
197,  465 
215,996 
215,151 
220,809 
216,626 
202,  148 
188,115 
165,  736 
167,753 
162,302 
149,  128 
162,  455 
169,000 
170,  462 
150,827 

71 
75 
79 
83 
87 
89 
93 
96 
98 
99 
100 
100 
99 
94 
94 
93 
92 
90 
88 
85 
82 
80 
80 
80 
78 
71 
60 
53 
50 
54 
61 
68 
76 
82 
86 
89 
88' 
91 
93 
94 
94 
96 
91 
87 
82 
80 
80 
77 
80 
81 
82 
79 

53 
63 
67 
74 
78 
82 
87 
90 
98 
100 
100 
100 
97 
79 
82 
85 
83 
78 
76 
73 
68 
64 
68 
69 
65 
58 
43 
39 
38 
43 
47 
56 
65 
72 
80 
78 
69 
80 
88 
88 
90 
88 
82 
77 
68 
68 
66 
61 
66 
69 
69 
61 

85 
90 
95 
99 
104 
107 
112 
115 
118 
119 
120 
120 
119 
113 
113 
112 
111 
108 
106 
102 
98 
97 
96 
97 
93 
85 
72 
63 
60 
65 
73 
82 
92 
99 
103 
107 
106 
109 
111 
112 
113 
115 
109 
104 
98 
96 
96 
93 
96 
97 
99 
95 

7 
8 
9 
10 
108 
11 
11 
12 
135 
13 
13 
13 
13 
109 
11 
11 
11 
108 
104 
100 
9 
8 
9 
9 
S 
7 
5 
5 
5 
5 
6 
7 
S 
9 
11 
10 
9 
11 
12 
120 
123 
12 
11 
105 
9 
9 
9 
83 
9 
9 
9 
84 

2 

3                                                    

4 

5                   

6                                        -            .    .     .. 

7                         ;  

8                                                  

g 

10                             

11 

12            

13 

14 

15                              .   .              

16 

17     

18 

19  

20            

21 

22  

23 

24  

25  

26 

27  

28 

29 

30  

31 

32  

33  

34 

35  

36. 

37 

38  

39  . 

40 

41  

42 

43 

44  

45 

46 

47  

48  

49 

50... 

51... 

52 

Average 

17,100 

178,887 

83.3 

73 

100 

100 

1  In  the  column  for  employee  the  busiest  wesk  means  the  week  in  whioh  th3  maximum  number  were 
employed;  in  the  column  far  wages  it  rmans  the  week  in  whish  the  maximum  amount  was  paid. 

2  Percentage  which  employees  or  wages  each  week  constituted  of  average  employees  or  wages  per  week 

Taking  the  figures  for  the  industry  as  a  whole,  it  will  be  seen  thai 
the  average  employment  through  the  year  as  shown  by  the  number 
of  employees  each  week  was  83.3  per  cent;  expressed  as  a  percentage 


WAGES   AND    EMPLOYMENT   IX    DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.      161 

of  the  amount  of  wages  paid  out  each  week,  the  annual  average  was 
73  per  cent.  That  is  to  say,  if  the  20,524  people,  the  maximum 
number  employed  in  any  week  (Table  69),  in  the  shops  which  had 

\  records  for  the  entire  year,1  were  all  to  be  given  an  equal  chance 
they  would  have  employment  83.3  per  cent  of  the  year,  or  over  43 
weeks.  That  does  not  mean,  however,  that  they  would  be  fully 
employed  during  those  weeks;  it  means  merely  that  they  would 
be  on  the  pay  roll  for  that  length  of  time,  but  the  actual  amount 
of  work  they  would  have  an  opportunity  of  doing  is  shown  by 

I  the  average   annual  wage  percentage,  which,  as  will  be  seen  from 

'  Table  69,  was  73  per  cent.  This  percentage  is  based  on  the  wages 
actually  paid  out  from  week  to  week  and  is  necessarily  smaller  than 
the  percentage  of  people  employed,  because  workers,  especially  those 

I  paid  by  the  piece,  may  be  on  the  pay  roll  for  a  week,  but  be  paid  only 
for  the  work  actually  done  by  them,  which  may  last  only  a  few  hours 
each  day  or  a  few  hours  for  the  entire  week,  especially  when  work 
is  not  plentiful. 

The  highest  percentage  of  employment  is,  of  course,  100,  and  oc- 
curred during  the  twelfth  week  (end  of  March),  while  the  lowest  was 
50,  found  during  the  twenty-ninth  week  (early  in  August) .  On  the 
other  hand,  taking  the  wages  paid  out  (Table  68)  it  is  found  that 
the  highest  amount,  $245,494,  was  paid  out  during  the  eleventh  week, 
the  lowest  (in  the  twenty-ninth  week)  fell  to  $94,149,  or  38  per  cent 
of  the  highest,  and  the  average  for  the  year  was  $178,887.  That  is  to 
say,  if  the  work  done  during  the  year  were  spread  out  equally  over 
every  week  of  the  year,  the  wages  paid  out  by  these  shops  would 
amount  to  $178,887  per  week. 

Another  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  these  figures  is  that  employ- 
ment is  more  steady  than  earnings  in  the  industry;  that  is  to  say, 
when  work  slackens  most  of  the  people  are  retained  at  the  fac- 
tories, but  there  is  less  work  to  go  around  and  in  consequence  less 
wages  earned.  For  this  reason  the  average  wage  per  employee  during 
one  of  the  busiest  weeks  (tenth)  was  $12,  while  during  the  twenty- 
seventh  week  it  dropped  to  $8.59,  the  weekly  average  for  the  year  being 
$10.46.  Taking  the  average  annual  percentage  that  wages  for  each 
of  the  four  branches  of  the  industry  were  of  the  maximum  amount 
of  wages  of  any  week,  it  will  be  found  that  they  differ  widely,  the  lowest, 
44  per  cent,  being  for  the  high-grade  (B)  nonassociation  shops,  and 
the  highest,  71  per  cent,  for  the  high-grade  (B)  association  shops. 

The  fluctuations  of  employment  in  1912,  as  expressed  in  the 
amount  of  wages  paid  and  the  number  of  people  employed,  can 

1  A  very  small  number  of  shops  has  been  included  above  in  which  wage  records  were  missing  for  a  few 
weeks.  But  the  wages  paid  out  for  these  shops  constituted  too  small  a  fraction  of  the  total  to  affect  the 
results  to  any  appreciable  degree. 

42132°— Bull.  146— 14 11 


162  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

be  easily  traced  from  week   to  week  in   the   following   charts   pre- 
pared for  that  purpose. 

Chart  17  consists  of  two  separate  diagrams,  the  upper  one  showing 
the  fluctuations  in  the  industry  as  a  whole,  while  the  lower  diagram 
shows  the  same  facts  for  branch  B,  which  consists  of  shops  making 
high-grade  garments.  The  solid  line  in  each  case  represents  the 
number  of  people  employed,  while  the  dotted  shows  the  wages  paid 
out.  For  the  purpose  of  graphic  presentation,  the  average  number 
of  people  employed  weekly  throughout  the  year  and  the  average 
weekly  wages  paid  out  in  the  industry  for  the  whole  year  were 
designated  as  100;  and  the  number  of  people  employed  each  week 
and  the  amount  of  wages  paid  out  each  week  were  expressed  as 
percentages  of  those  numbers. 

SEASONAL  RISE  AND  FALL  IN  NUMBER  OF  EMPLOYEES  AND  IN  WAG] 

Looking  at  the  upper  diagram  in  Chart  1 7,  two  high  peaks  are  found 
in  the  months  of  March  and  October,  indicating  the  periods  of  greatest 
activity,  while  the  lowest  point  falls  in  the  month  of  July,  showing 
the  dullest  month  of  the  year  for  the  industry.  Between  the  high 
and  low  points  there  are  several  fluctuations  of  a  minor  character. 

Examining  the  lines  closely,  the  first  point  that  strikes  the  eye  is 
that  while  the  two  lines  follow,  as  a  rule,  the  same  direction,  they 
rarely  coincide.  The  broken  line,  denoting  wages,  rises  to  greater 
heights  and  falls  to  lower  depressions  than  the  solid  line,  which 
shows  the  fluctuations  in  the  number  of  people  employed.  Thus,  in 
the  month  of  March  the  wage  line  rises  to  137  per  cent,  while  the 
employment  line  stops  at  120  per  cent.  This  means  that  while  dur- 
ing the  busiest  week  in  1912,  which  occurred  in  March,  there  were 
20  per  cent  more  people  employed  in  the  shops  than  the  average 
throughout  the  year,  the  wages  at  the  same  time  rose  to  37  per  cent 
above  the  average.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  when  factories  are 
busy  to  their  capacity,  they  can  not  increase  the  number  of  their 
employees  beyond  a  certain  limit,  which  is  determined,  first,  by  the 
number  of  machines  at  the  factory,  and,  second,  by  the  available 
supply  of  help  which  at  that  time  of  the  year  usually  falls  short  of 
the  demand.  At  the  same  time  the  people  employed  at  the  factories 
are  kept  more  steadily  at  work  than  at  other  times  in  the  year,  and 
therefore  the  individual  earnings  per  employee  increase  in  greater 
proportion.  This  is  especially  true  of  pieceworkers,  but  is  also  true 
of  week  workers,  who  are  able  to  command  during  those  weeks 
higher  rates  of  wages,  which  are  further  increased  through  working 
overtime. 

A  marked  excess  of  the  percentage  of  wages  over  the  percentage 
of  employees  will  be  found  at  the  other  high  peaks,  viz,  in  February, 
in  April,  at  the  end  of  August  (35th  week),  at  the  end  of  September 


WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.      163 


(39th  week),  and  the  middle  of  October.  The  only  exceptions  to  this 
rule  occur  in  the  months  of  June,  November,  and  December,  when 
the  employment  peak  is  above  the  wage  crest.  These  exceptions 


CH 

w 

A.RT  17.—  SEASONAL  FLUCTUATIONS   OF  EMPLOYMENT  AND  WA( 
IN  WHOLE  INDUSTRY  AND  IN  6  HIGH-GRADE  SHOPS,  1912. 

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serve  to  confirm  the  rule  as  will  be  explained  below,  after  considering 
the  low  points  in  the  curves. 

When  the  low  points  are  examined  it  is  found  that  here  again  the 
wage  line  goes  to  greater  extremes  than  the  employment  line  and 


164  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

therefore  declines  to  lower  points  than  the  latter.  Thus  at  the  lowest 
ebb  of  the  industry  in  July,  the  total  wages  paid  out  in  the  industry 
decline  to  53  per  cent  of  the  average  weekly  wage  paid  through  the 
year,  while  the  per  cent  of  employment  goes  down  only  to  60  per 
cent.  The  meaning  of  this  is  that  when  business  drops  off,  the 
workers,  especially  those  paid  by  the  week,  are  not  laid  off  in  pro- 
portion to  the  decline  in  business,  which  leaves  less  work  for  each 
worker.  In  other  words,  while  wages  decline  in  proportion  to  the 
dropping  off  in  business,  the  number  of  workers  is  not  reduced  to  the 
same  extent.  What  occurs  in  July  will  likewise  be  found  at  the  other 
low  points,  such  as  April  (14th  week),  end  of  May  (22d  week),  middle 
of  September,  the  three  November  points,  and  December.  That  the 
high  peaks  of  wages  in  June,  November,  and  December  did  not  rise  to 
the  corresponding  employment  peaks  was  due  to  the  fact  that  those 
are  three  comparatively  slow  months  when  there  are  more  people  at 
the  factories  than  there  is  work  to  keep  them  all  busy.  When  a  tem- 
porary improvement  in  the  situation  occurs  during  those  months, 
the  wages  rise  more  rapidly  than  the  number  of  employees,  but  not 
sufficiently  for  the  wage  line  to  rise  above  the  employment  line.  Thus 
before  the  rise  in  June  the  wage  line  was  88  per  cent  wiiile  the  employ- 
ment line  was  at  97  per  cent,  making  a  difference  of  9  points  between 
the  two;  the  wages  then  rapidly  increase  in  two  weeks  to  95  per  cent 
(24th  week),  while  the  number  of  workers  remains  the  same,  at  97 
per  cent),  making  the  difference  between  the  two  lines  only  2  points, 
but  not  enough  to  send  the  wage  line  above  the  employment  line. 
Exactly  the  same  thing  happened  in  November  and  December. 

Following  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  curves  through  the  year,  the  first 
week  of  January  is  found  to  be  at  the  lowest  point  of  the  year,  with 
the  exception  of  July.  This  is  natural;  it  coincides  with  the  New 
Year's  holidays  and  the  beginning  of.  and  the  preparation  for  the 
new  spring  season.  Wages  are  73  per  cent  of  the  average,  that  is  to 
say,  27  per  cent  below  normal;  employment  is  85  per  cent  of  the 
average,  or  15  per  cent  below  the  normal.  Both  lines  rise  rapidly, 
indicating  that  orders  are  coming  in;  additional  workers  are  taken 
on  as  fast  as  conditions  warrant;  wages  are  rising  more  rapidly  than 
the  number  of  new  workers,  which  means  that  the  old  hands  have 
more  work  to  do;  and  at  the  end  of  the  third  week  hi  January  the  two 
lines  cross  each  other  at  97  per  cent,  which  means  that  wages  have 
overtaken  employment  and  the  industry  is  nearly  normal.  The 
wheels  of  industry  are  now  going  faster  and  faster,  the  wage  line 
mounts  higher  and  higher,  the  employment  line  likewise  rises  but 
can  not  keep  up  with  the  wage  line.  This  represents  the  time  of 
the  year  when  manufacturers  complain  of  lack  of  skilled  help  and 
when  the  union  can  not  meet  the  demand  from  the  employers  for  more 
help.  This  keeps  up  for  about  two  months,  when  the  amount  of 


WAGES   AND  .-EMPLOYMENT   IN  .DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.      165 

weekly  wages  paid  out  in  the  middle  of  March  reaches  137  per  cent, 
that  is  to  say,  37  per  cent  above  normal;  and  the  employment  line  is 
at  120  per  cent,  which  means  that  the  number  of  workers  in  the 
industry  is  20  per  cent  above  the  average. 

The  highest  point  reached  is  maintained  for  two  weeks  and  then  the 
decline  sets  in,  slowly  at  first,  with  temporary  ups  and  downs  through 
April,  May,  and  June,  but  each  subsequent  rise  finds  the  curves  at  a 
lower  point  than  the  preceding  one,  while  each  succeeding  point  of 
decline  exceeds  the  preceding  one.  Noting  now  the  course  of  the  two 
lines,  the  first  drop,  both  in  the  employment  and  in  the  wage  lines, 
which  occurs  at  the  end  of  March,  is  much  more  precipitous  than  in 
the  next  few  weeks.  Up  to  this  point  everything  was  strained  to  the 
limit  of  endurance  to  meet  the  rush  orders;  workers  were  kept  busy 
every  minute  of  the  day  and  made  to  work  overtime ;  all  the  machines 
were  in  operation  and  anyone  from  outside  the  industry  who  could  run 
a  sewing  machine  was  put  to  work.  As  soon  as  the  rush  is  over,  the 
last  recruits  and  the  less  competent  and  the  less  desirable  workers 
from  the  manufacturer's  point  of  view  are  the  first  to  go;  hence  the 
sudden  decline  of  the  employment  line  from  the  12th  to  the  14th 
week  (end  of  March  and  beginning  of  April) .  At  the  same  time  the 
wage  line  drops  much  more  sharply  than  the  employment  line, 
because  overtime  is  largely  discontinued  and  there  is  less  work  during 
the  regular  work  hours  to  go  around  among  those  who  remain  on  the 
pay  roll.  After  the  line  reaches  bottom  at  the  end  of  the  first  week  in 
April  there  is  a  new  rise  in  wages,  although  the  number  of  people 
employed  continues  to  decline  slowly  but  surely.  This  temporary 
improvement  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  preceding  slump  affected  the 
entire  industry,  while  from  now  on  the  factories  making  cheap  waists 
and  dresses  are  able  to  find  a  market  for  staple  summer  goods  among 
the  retail  stores,  and  only  those  manufacturing  fine  dresses  and  gowns 
have  but  little  to  do. 

The  contrast  between  the  two  branches  of  the  industry  can  be  seen 
at  a  glance  by  looking  at  the  lower  diagram  of  Chart  8,  which  repre- 
sents six  shops  making  exclusively  high-grade  garments.  Here  the 
wage  line  is  seen  to  decline  much  more  rapidly  in  the  months  of  April 
and  May  than  in  the  upper  diagram.  At  the  end  of  May  the  wage 
line  drops  to  88  per  cent  in  the  upper  diagram,  while  in  the  lower 
diagram  it  reaches  the  lowest  point  during  that  month  at  66  per  cent. 
In  June  and  July  the  wage  line  for  the  whole  industry  (upper  dia- 
gram) declines  very  rapidly,  reaching  bottom  in  the  middle  of  July, 
when  wages  decline  to  53,  i.  e.  47  per  cent  below  normal  (only  a  little 
over  one- third  of  the  wages  paid  out  during  the  busiest  week),  while 
the  line  fs>r  the  high-grade  end  of  the  industry  (lower  diagram)  con- 
tinues during  the  months  of  June  and  July  (with  some  ups  and 
downs)  at  about  the  same  level  as  it  reached  at  the  end  of  May.  This 


166  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

is  due  to  the  fact  that  after  the  slump  in  May  the  high-grade  garment 
industry  recovers  part  of  the  lost  ground  by  making  up  garments  at 
reduced  prices  offered  at  special  sales  in  the  stores  and  is  thus  able  to 
keep  moderately  busy,  while  the  manufacturers  of  low-priced  gar- 
ments, having  satisfied  the  summer  trade,  are  now  only  able  to  get 
mostly  small  supplementary  orders  "  to  fill  sizes."  As  they  are  selling 
cheap  goods  regularly,  they  are  not  in  the  same  position  as  the  manu- 
facturers of  high-grade  garments  to  make  up  special  garments  at 
reduced  prices. 

Having  reached  bottom  in  July,  both  branches  of  the  industry 
begin  to  pick  up  for  the  fall  season.  The  fall  season  is  neither  as  long 
nor  as  active  as  the  spring  season,  which  a  glance  at  the  two  diagrams 
in  Chart  17  will  show.  Taking  up  first  the  upper  diagram  for  the  indus- 
try as  a  whole,  we  see  that  the  highest  point  reached  by  the  wage  line 
is  only  123  in  October,  as  compared  with  137  in  March.  While  in 
the  spring  nearly  four  months  are  above  the  average  line,  in  the  fall 
only  one  and  a  half  months  are  above  that  line.  The  rise  in  August 
is  rapid,  but  as  it  starts  from  the  bottom  in  July,  it  does  not  reach 
normal  (100  per  cent)  until  the  last  week  in  August.  There  is  a  big 
slump  in  the  middle  of  September,  due  to  the  Jewish  holidays.  This 
explains  why  the  solid  line,  representing  the  number  of  people 
employed,  continues  to  rise  in  spite  of  the  fall  in  the  wage  line :  The 
people  are  all  on  the  pay  roll,  but  they  earn  but  little  on  account  of 
the  holidays. 

Both  the  upper  and  lower  diagrams  show  the  same  tendency;  but 
in  the  lower  diagram  (high-grade  garment  industry)  the  fall  busy  season 
(represented  by  the  area  above  the  normal  100  per  cent  line)  is  twice 
as  large  as  in  the  upper  diagram  (representing  the  whole  industry). 
That  is  to  say,  the  high-grade  garment  industry  is  busy  three  months 
in  the  fall  season  as  against  one  and  a  half  months  in  the  industry  as 
a  whole.  Not  only  does  the  fall  season  last  longer  in  the  higher  end 
of  the  industry,  but  it  develops  to  a  greater  extent,  the  wage  line 
rising  to  134  per  cent  (beginning  of  October)  in  that  branch  and  only 
to  123  per  cent  in  the  industry  as  a  whole.  In  both  diagrams  the 
decline  sets  in  during  October,  passing  under  the  normal  line  in  the 
early  part  of  November,  but  here  a  change  occurs  in  the  relative  posi- 
tions of  the  high-grade  branch  of  the  industry  and  of  the  industry 
as  a  whole.  In  the  former  the  wage  line  drops  to  64  per  cent  at 
the  end  of  November,  while  in  the  industry  as  a  whole  it  does  not  go 
below  83  per  cent.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  many  of  the  shops 
manufacturing  cheaper  garments  begin  to  get  busy  at  this  time  on 
advance  spring  orders  or  are  making  up  stock  in  anticipation  of  the 
rush  order  demand  of  the  early  spring  months  and  the  advance  Jan- 
uary sales,  while  the  high-grade  shops  must  still  await  the  final 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST  INDUSTRY.      167 


developments  in  the  style  adjustments  for  the  coming  spring,  and 
such  a  thing  as  making  stock  is  entirely  out  of  the  question. 

What  has  been  said  about  the  two  branches  of  the  industry  is 
shown  in  Tables  70  and  71,  which  follow,  and  is  strikingly  brought 
out  in  Charts  18  and  19. 

TABLE  70.— FLUCTUATIONS  OF  EMPLOYMENT  AND  WAGES  IN  1912  IN  SIX  SHOPS  MANU- 
FACTURING HIGH-GRADE  GARMENTS  EXCLUSIVELY. 


Week. 

Number 
of  persons 
employed. 

Amount  paid 
in  wages. 

Per  cent  (busiest 
week=100).i 

Per  cent  (average 
foryear=100).2 

Em- 
ployees. 

Wages. 

Em- 
ployees. 

Wages. 

1  

529 
561 
646 
642 
651 
677 
681 
685 
684 
691 
685 
681 
647 
611 
612 
581 
586 
545 
544 
533 
493 
489 
493 
483 
482 
495 
461 
473 
493 
528 
560 
589 
632 
635 
639 
634 
646 
679 
675 
647 
633 
624 
602 
609 
601 
596 
584 
488 
509 
523 
569 
550 

$4,701 
5,107 
6,647 
7,181 
7,216 
7,999 
8,114 
8,050 
9,185 
9,907 
9,885 
9,216 
8,332 
6,846 
7,030 
6,953 
6,659 
6,024 
5,525 
5,117 
4,467 
4,676 
5,218 
4,364 
4,253 
4,804 
4,073 
4,927 
5,496 
5,738 
6,216 
6,742 
7,405 
7,878 
8,582 
8,183 
7,845 
8,764 
9,043 
8,777 
8,217 
8,  195 
8,017 
7,588 
6,863 
6,386 
5,858 
4,284 
5,062 
5,199 
6,149 
5,360 

77 
81 
93 
93 
94 
98 
99 
99 
99 
100 
99 
99 
94 
88 
89 
84 
85 
79 
79 
77 
71 
71 
71 
70 
70 
72 
67 
68 
71 
76 
81 
85 
91 
92 
92 
92 
93 
98 
98 
94 
92 
90 
87 
88 
87 
86 
85 
71 
74 
76 
82 
80 

48 
52 
67 
72 
73 
81 
82 
81 
93 
100 
100 
93 
84 
69 
71 
70 
67 
61 
56 
52 
45 
47 
53 
44 
43 
48 
41 
50 
55 
58 
63 
68 
75 
80 
87 
83 
79 
88 
91 
89 
83 
83 
81 
77 
69 
64 
59 
43 
51 
52 
62 
54 

90 
95 
110 
109 
111 
115 
116 
116 
116 
118 
117 
116 
110 
104 
104 
99 
100 
93 
93 
91 
84 
83 
84 
82 
82 
84 
78 
80 
84 
90 
95 
100 
107 
108 
109 
108 
110 
115 
115 
110 
108 
106 
102 
104 
102 
101 
99 
83 
87 
89 
97 
94 

70 
76 
99 
107 
107 
119 
121 
119 
136 
147 
147 
137 
124 
102 
104 
103 
99 
89 
82 
76 
66 
69 
77 
65 
63 
71 
60 
73 
82 
85 
92 
100 
110 
117 
127 
121 
116 
130 
134 
130 
122 
122 
119 
113 
102 
95 
87 
64 
75 
77 
91 
80 

2 

3 

4  .   .. 

5 

6  

7  .   .. 

8 

9  

10  

11 

12  

13          ....           .... 

14 

15  

16                             .    . 

17 

18  

19 

20... 

21           

22 

23  

24       

25 

2fi 

27          

28 

29 

30  

31                     ... 

32 

33  

34          

35 

36  

37 

38 

39  

40          

41 

42 

43  

44 

45 

46  

47 

48 

49  

50  

51 

52 

Average  

588 

6,737 

85.1 

68 

100 

100 

1  In  the  column  for  employees  the  busiest  week  means  the  week  in  which  the  maximum  number  were 
employed;  in  the  column  for  wages  it  means  the  week  in  which  the  maximum  amount  was  paid. 

2  Percentage  which  employees  or  wages  each  week  constituted  of  average  employees  or  wages  per  week 
during  year. 


168 


BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 


TABLE  71.— FLUCTUATIONS  OF  EMPLOYMENT  AND  WAGES  IN  1912  IN  SIX  SHOPS  MANU- 
FACTURING LOW-GRADE  WAISTS  EXCLUSIVELY. 


Week. 

Number 
of  persons 
employed. 

Amount  paid 
in  wages. 

Per  cent  (busiest 
week=100).i 

Per  cent  (average 
foryear=100).2 

Em- 
ployees. 

Wages. 

Em- 
ployees. 

Wages. 

1                         

1,  151 
1,175 
1,148 
1,189 
1,199 
1,235 
1,248 
1,264 
1,251 
1,263 
1,214 
1,257 
1,250 
1,191 
1,237 
1,269 
1,272 
1,290 
1,290 
1,296 
1,298 
1,282 
1,257 
1,235 
1,205 
1,136 
1.070 
847 
720 
744 
864 
904 
975 
997 
1,048 
1,106 
1,104 
1,180 
1,224 
1,283 
1,329 
1,360 
1,407 
1,422 
1,416 
1,446 
1,459 
1,446 
1,441 
1,413 
1,413 
1,272 

S9.616 
10,  752 
11,333 
12,  112 
11,847 
12,204 
12,548 
12,  768 
13,411 
13,497 
13,129 
13,  701 
14,260 
11,092 
11,944 
13,002 
13,604 
13,083 
13,066 
12,848 
12,768 
11,151 
11,664 
11,504 
10,646 
9,322 
7,154 
5,275 
5,  250 
5,270 
6,018 
6,917 
7,915 
8,905 
10,044 
10,389 
8,049 
9,584 
Hi  956 
12,930 
13,633 
13,940 
13,881 
14,256 
13,907 
14,528 
14,291 
13,159 
13,927 
23,040 
12,867 
10.596 

79 
81 
79 
81 
82 
85 
85 
87 
86 
87 
83 
86 
86 
82 
85 
87 
87 
88 
88 
89 
89 
88 
86 
85 
83 
78 
73 
58 
49 
51 
59 
62 
67 
68 
72 
76 
76 
81 
84 
88 
91 
93 
96 
97 
97 
99 
100 
99 
90 
97 
97 
87 

66 
74 
78 
83 
82 
84 
86 
88 
92 
93 
90 
94 
98 
76 
82 
89 
94 
90 
90 
88 
88 
77 
80 
79 
73 
64 
49 
36 
36 
36 
41 
48 
54 
61 
69 
72 
55 
66 
82 
89 
94 
96 
96 
98 
96 
100 
98 
91 
96 
90 
89 
73 

95 
97 
95 
93 
99 
102 
103 
104 
103 
104 
100 
104 
103 
98 
102 
105 
105 
107 
107 
107 
107 
106 
104 
102 
100 
94 
88 
70 
59 
61 
71 
75 
81 
82 
87 
91 
91 
97 
101 
106 
110 
112 
116 
117 
117 
119 
120 
119 
119 
117 
117 
105 

84 
94 
99 
106 
104 
107 
110 
112 
117 
118 
115 
120 
125 
97 
104 
114 
119 
114 
114 
112 
112 
98 
102 
101 
93 
82 
63 
46 
46 
46 
53 
60 
69 
78 
88 
91 
70 
84 
105 
113 
119 
122 
121 
125 
122 
127 
125 
115 
122 
114 
113 
93 

2 

3                    

4                                               

5 

7 

8             

9                                                   

10 

H                               

12 

13                    

14                                                       -   -- 

15 

16                                        .             

17 

18                         

19                                                          .   . 

20 

21 

22 

23                  

24 

25  

26                  

27 

28  

29 

30  

31                 

32 

33  

34 

35  

36          .           ....                ... 

37 

38  

39 

40  

41  

42 

43 

44  

45. 

46  

47  

48 

49... 

50  

51 

52  

Average 

1,211 

11,434 

83 

78.7 

100 

100 

1  In  the  column  for  employees  the  busiest  week  means  the  week  in  which  the  maximum  number  were 
employed;  in  the  column  for  wages  it  means  the  week  in  which  the  maximum  amount  was  paid. 

2  Percentage  which  employees  or  wages  each  week  constituted  of  average  employees  or  wage??  per  ^eek 
during  year. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.      169 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  many  of  the  shops  manufacture  a  wide 
range  of  goods  and  are  therefore  subject  to  conditions  prevailing 
both  in  the  cheap  and  expensive  shops  in  the  industry,  a  clear  view 
of  the  conditions  existing  in  each  class  of  shops  could  be  obtained  only 
by  selecting  a  few  shops  manufacturing  exclusively  high-grade  garments 
and  a  few  making  exclusively  cheap  goods.  The  tables  and  charts 


were  prepared  with  this  end  in  view.  Chart  18  shows  the  fluctua- 
tions in  wages  prevailing  in  six  high-grade  shops  (solid  light  lines), 
six  large  shops  manufacturing  cheap  waists  (broken  line),  and  in 
the  industry  as  a  whole  (heavy  line).  Chart  19  shows  the  fluctua- 
tion in  employment  for  the  same  groups. 

From  these  charts  the  contrast  in  the  two  ends  of  the  industry 
can  be  soon  at  a  glance.     A  more  rapid  rise  in  wages  during  the 


170 


BULLETIN    OF    THE    BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


months  of  January,  February,  and  March  in  the  high-grade  shops  asi 
compared  with  the  cheap  shops  is  apparent.  At  the  climax  in  March: 
the  wage  line  for  the  high-grade  shops  rises  to  147  per  cent,  while  for] 
the  cheap  shops  it  stops  at  125  per  cent.  In  the  latter  part  of  March1 
both  lines  fall  sharply  and  in  the  early  part  of  April  the  line  for  thei 


low-grade  shops  drops  to  3  per  cent  below  normal  and  the  line  for 
the  high-grade  shops  to  2  per  cent  above  normal.  From  this  drop 
the  cheaper  branch  of  the  industry  quickly  recovers,  rising  to  120  per 
cent  by  the  end  of  April,  while  the  recovery  in  the  high-grade  is  but 
slight  (105  per  cent),  only  3  per  cent  above  the  low  point  and  only 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT  IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.      171 


!  lasts  one  week,  after  which  there  is  a  steady  decline  during  the 
I  months  of  April  and  May.  The  line  for  the  cheaper  branch  con- 
tinues to  rise  all  through  April  and  fairly  holds  its  own  during 
May.  In  the  latter  part  of  May  the  low-grade  line  begins  to  decline, 
i  and  from  that  time  on  there  is  an  almost  uninterrupted  drop  until 
it  reaches  the  lowest  point  at  46  per  cent,  or  54  per  cent  below 
i  normal  in  July,  while  the  high-grade  line,  in  spite  of  fluctuations, 
ipractically  holds  its  own  through  the  month  of  June,  for  the  reasons 
explained  above,  and  early  in  July  starts  on  a  rapid  and  steady 
recovery. 

This  recovery,  which  marks  the  opening  of  the  fall  season,  com- 
mences early  in  July  in  the  high-grade  line  and  a  few  weeks  later  at 
the  cheap  one.  The  two  lines  move  in  the  same  direction  during 
August,  which  marks  the  period  of  rising  activity,  but  while  the  high- 
grade  line  reaches  the  climax  at  the  end  of  August  at  128  per  cent, 
the  high-water  mark  of  the  cheap  line  halts  at  91  per  cent,  or  9  per 
cent  below  normal.  In  September  there  is  a  perceptible  drop  in 
the  wage  curves  of  both  ends  of  the  industry,  due  to  the  Jewish 
holidays.  That  it  is  not  due  to  a  decline  in  business  is  shown  by  the 
lines  in  Chart  19,  in  which  the  curves  representing  employment  show 
not  only  no  decline,  but  on  the  contrary  show  a  continuous  increase. 
The  end  of  September  marks  the  culmination  of  the  fall  season  in 
the  high-grade  line  at  134  per  cent,  after  which  the  curve  takes  a 
sudden  and  swift  drop,  which  continues  without  interruption  for 
two  months,  reaching  bottom  early  in  December  at  64  per  cent,  or 
36  per  cent  below  normal. 

The  very  opposite  takes  place  at  the  cheap  end  of  the  industry. 
At  the  end  of  September,  when  the  high-grade  curve  reaches  the 
climax,  the  low-grade  curve  is  at  105  per  cent,  or  29  points  below 
the  high-grade.  But  instead  of  declining  from  this  time  on,  as  the 
high-grade  curve  does,  the  low-grade  continues  to  rise,  overtaking 
the  high-grade  in  the  middle  of  October  at  122,  from  which  it  con- 
tinues to  rise  until  it  reaches  the  climax  in  the  middle  of  November 
at  128.  During  these  two  months  the  waist  manufacturers,  espe- 
cially at  the  cheaper  end,  have  been  busy  supplying  both  an  imme- 
diate fall  demand  and  an  advance  spring  demand,  while  the  fine  dress 
and  gown  shops  have  had  little  to  do.  In  December  there  is  a  rapid 
decline  both  of  employment  (Chart  19)  and  of  earnings  (Chart  18), 
and  a  moderate  rise  in  the  expensive  branch,  which  is  beginning  to 
work  on  sample  orders  for  the  early  spring  trade.  A  decline  sets 
in  in  both  curves  in  the  second  half  of  December,  due  to  the  Christ- 
mas holidays  and  end-of-the-year  stock  taking,  in  anticipation  of 
the  starting  up  of  the  wheels  of  industry  after  New  Year's,  as  shown 
by  the  rising  curves  during  the  month  of  January. 


172 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR    STATISTICS. 


In  one  respect  the  shops  making  exclusively  cheap  garments  and 
those  manufacturing  high-grade  garments  are  alike;  both  have  a 
fairly  long  fall  season,  lasting  about  three  months  (see  Chart  18), 
the  only  difference  being  that  in  the  high-grade  dress  shops  the  seasoi 
starts  and  ends  at  earlier  dates  than  in  the  cheap  waist  shops.  II 
seems  strange,  therefore,  that  the  industry  as  a  whole  (represenl 
by  the  heavy  curve  on  Chart  18)  should  have  a  shorter  season,  lastinj 
less  than  two  months.  One  explanation  for  this  is  that  the  indusl 
as  a  whole  includes  a  large  number  of  shops  making  a  medium  grade 
of  waists  and  no  dresses.  These  shops  make  too  high  a  grade  oi 
waists  to  venture  to  make  stock  for  advance  spring  sales  as  th( 
cheap  waist  manufacturers  do,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  have  not 
the  same  demand  for  immediate  fall  deliveries  as  the  dress  manu- 
facturers have.  The  result  is  a  shorter  season  and  a  less  active  on< 
while  it  lasts. 

EMPLOYMENT  AMONG  WEEK  WORKERS  AND  PIECEWORKERS. 

An  important  question  to  those  engaged  in  the  industry  is  that 
the  comparative  regularity  of  employment  among  pieceworkei 
and  week  workers.  In  compiling  the  wages  paid  each  week  through- 
out the  year  in  the  several  shops,  it  was  found  impracticable  to  segre- 
gate the  earnings  of  the  pieceworkers  from  those  of  the  week  workers. 
This  separation  was  made,  however,  in  the  case  of  two  fairly  large 
shops  manufacturing  exclusively  $9  waists  and  two  shops  manu- 
facturing a  medium  grade  of  waists  ranging  from  $16.50  to  $36  a 
dozen.  These  four  shops  may  be  considered  as  typical  of  the  classes 
of  shops  which  they  represent. 

The  figures  referring  to  these  shops  are  given  in  Tables  72  and  73, 
which  follow: 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT  IN    DRESS   AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.      173 

i 

TABLE  72.— FLUCTUATIONS  OF  EMPLOYMENT  AND  WAGES  OF  WEEK  WORKERS  AND 
PIECEWORKERS  IN  TWO  SHOPS  MANUFACTURING  S9-PER-DOZEN  WAISTS  EXCLU- 
SIVELY. 


: 

Number  of  per- 
sons employed. 

Amounts  paid 
in  wages. 

Per  cent  of  per- 
sons employed 
(busiest  week  = 
100)  .1 

Per  cent  paid 
in  wages 
(busiest  week= 
100).  2 

Week 
work. 

Piece- 
work. 

Week 
work. 

Piece- 
work. 

Week 
work. 

Piece- 
work. 

Week 
work. 

Piece- 
work. 

. 

116 
118 
115 
114 
115 
115 
119 
114 
119 
121 
122 
122 
123 
123 
120 
122 
124 
'    123 
124 
130 
127 
124 
120 
116 
116 
114 
110 
106 
100 
87 
77 
85 
82 
95 
96 
98 
96 
101 
99 
100 
104 
122 
111 
108 
108 
108 
111 
110 
110 
112 
110 
109 

110 
110 
112 
114 
111 
115 
111 
107 
111 
116 
119 
118 
118 
108 
112 
117 
110 
109 
110 
104 
106 
102 
105 
105 
103 
107 
89 
84 
80 
84 
76 
81 
92 
96 
102 
103 
99 
102 
104 
102 
107 
108 
117 
126 
126 
124 
127 
121 
124 
119 
121 
121 

$835 
990 
1,021 
1,046 
987 
1.098 
1,061 
1,077 
1,190 
1,289 
1,320 
1,462 
1,362 
1,104 
1,171 
1,244 
1,271 
1,189 
1,218 
1,251 
1,190 
971 
1,034 
992 
1,004 
967 
746 
558 
623 
461 
365 
503 
668 
826 
908 
894 
698 
816 
980 
1,116 
1,197 
1,404 
1,304 
1,228 
1,166 
1,389 
1,190 
1,082 
1,108 
1,092 
1,096 
1,050 

81,291 
1,341 
1,592 
1,615 
1,343 
1,566 
1,490 
1,422 
1,716 
1,765 
2,011 
2,062 
2,075 
1,873 
1,459 
1,953 
1,775 
1,604 
1,605 
1,552 
1,549 
1,277 
1,362 
1,375 
1,275 
1,398 
1,056 
663 
656 
740 
324 
478 
696 
917 
924 
1,009 
719 
963 
,273 
,303 
,478 
,612 
,611 
,926 
,875 
,710 
,859 
,684 
,658 
,514 
1,482 
1,561 

89 
91 
88 
88 
88 
88 
92 
88 
92 
93 
94 
94 
95 
95 
92 
94 
95 
95 
95 
100 
98 
95 
92 
89 
89 
88 
85 
82 
77 
67 
59 
65 
63 
73 
74 
75 
74 
78 
76 
77 
80 
94 
85 
83 
83 
83 
85 
85 
85 
86 
85 
84 

87 
87 
88 
90 
87 
91 
87 
84 
87 
91 
94 
93 
93 
85 
88 
92 
87 
86 
87 
82 
83 
80 
83 
.  83 
81 
84 
70 
66 
63 
66 
60 
64 
72 
76 
80 
81 
78 
80 
82 
80 
84 
85 
92 
99 
99 
98 
100 
95 
98 
94 
95 
95 

57 
68 
70 
72 
68' 
75 
73 
74 
81 
88 
90 
100 
93 
76 
80. 
85 
87 
81 
83 
86 
81 
66 
71 
68 
69 
66 
51 
38 
43 
32 
25 
34 
46 
56 
62 
61 
48 
56 
67 
76 
82 
96 
89 
84 
80 
95 
81 
74 
76 
75 
75 
72 

62 
65 
77 
78 
65 
75 
72 
69 
83 
85 
97 
99 
100 
90 
70 
94 
86 
77 
77 
75 
75 
62 
66 
66 
61 
67 
51 
32 
32 
36 
16 
23 
34 
44 
45 
49 
35 
46 
61 
63 
72 
78 
78 
93 
90 
82 
90 
81 
80 
73 
71 
75 

2                                  

3                                    ....  

4 

5                                

6                                                      

8                                           

g 

10 

11                                               

12 

13                                       

14                                                            ... 

15 

16                                               .       

17 

18 

19                                                         -   -- 

20              

21                             

22                                                         -   -- 

23 

24                                                      .   .   .. 

25 

26                     

27                                                          -   -- 

28 

29                     

30 

31         

32                        

33 

34          

35                                       .... 

36 

37             

38 

39  

40              

41 

42  

43                  

44 

45 

46              

47 

48  

49  

50 

51... 

52  

\  verage 

111 

108 

1,035 

1,405 

85 

85  |          71 

68 

1  The  busiest  week  in  each  of  these  columns  means  the  week  having  the  maximum  number  of  employees. 

2  The  busiest  week  in  each  of  these  columns  means  the  week  in  which  the  maximum  amount  of  wages 
was  paid. 


174 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUKEAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  73 —FLUCTUATIONS  OF  EMPLOYMENT  AND  WAGES  OF  WEEK  WORKERS  AND 
PIECEWORKERS  IN  TWO  SHOPS  MANUFACTURING  MEDIUM-GRADE  WAISTS. 


Week. 

Number  of  per- 
sons employed. 

Amounts  paid 
in  wages. 

Per  cent  of  per- 
sons employed 
(busiest  week= 
100)  .1 

Per  cent  paid 
in  wages 
(busiest  week= 
100)  .2 

Week 
work. 

Piece- 
work. 

Week 
work. 

Piece- 
work. 

Week 
work. 

Piece- 
work. 

Week 
work. 

Piece- 
work. 

1                         

125 
124 
128 
130 
138 
136 
135 
133 
137 
140 
142 
147 
149 
150 
153 
155 
151 
158 
150 
148 
143 
136 
132 
141 
148 
127 
86 
100 
106 
104 
103 
107 
112 
120 
125 
127 
122 
121 
123 
130 
137 
148 
141 
142 
145 
150 
150 
152 
158 
165 
167 
164 

205 
209 
214 
210 
209 
202 
210 
199 
214 
201 
205 
220 
222 
187 
213 
209 
216 
214 
209 
201 
194 
173 
190 
181 
148 
145 
74 
80 
96 
122 
135 
145 
157 
155 
158 
159 
129 
160 
165 
161 
170 
190 
177 
170 
159 
178 
183 
180 
197 
186 
199 
187 

$984 
1,213 
1,216 
1,231 
1,308 
1,272 
1,242 
1,276 
1,316 
1.393 
1  398 
1,428 
1,510 
1,268 
1,482 
1,503 
1,545 
1,414 
1,406 
1,305 
1,195 
1,190 
1,188 
1,381 
1,155 
960 
587 
711 
825 
833 
747 
934 
1,004 
1,110 
1,149 
1,143 
894 
1,144 
1,139 
,169 
,292 
,342 
,329 
,333 
,115 
,478 
,330 
,347 
,534 
,599 
,585 
,418 

$1,620 
2,134 
2,230 
2,368 
2,388 
2,453 
2,510 
2,354 
2,567 
2,536 
2,623 
2,950 
2,916 
2,154 
2,489 
2,741 
2,827 
2,623 
2,451 
2,073 
1,636 
.108 
,641 
,531 
,025 
,091 
273 
176 
690 
813 
1,017 
1,145 
1,432 
1,457 
1,588 
1,324 
1,024 
1,614 
1,830 
1,792 
2,030 
1,981 
728 
,718 
.430 
,930 
,085 
,670 
,923 
,944 
2,168 
1,875 

75 
74 
77 
78 
83 
81 
81 
80 
82 
84 
85 
88 
89 
90 
92 
93 
90 
95 
90 
89 
86 
81 
79 
84 
89 
76 
51 
60 
63 
62 
62 
64 
67 
72 
75 
76 
73 
72 
74 
78 
82 
89 
84 
85 
87 
90 
90 
91 
95 
99 
100 
98 

92 
94 
96 
95 
94 
91 
95 
90 
96 
91 
92 
99 
100 
84 
96 
94 
97 
96 
94 
91 
87 
78 
86 
82 
67 
65 
33 
36 
43 
55 
61 
65 
71 
70 
71 
72 
58 
72 
74 
73 
77 
86 
80 
77 
72 
80 
82 
81 
89 
84 
90 
84 

62 
76 
76 
77 
82 
80 
78 
80 
82 
87 
87 
89 
94 
79 
93 
94 
97 
88 
88 
82 
75 
74 
74 
86 
72 
60 
37 
44 
52 
52 
47 
58 
63 
69 
72 
71 
56 
72 
71 
73 
81 
84 
83 
83 
70 
92 
83 
84 
96 
100 
99 
89 

55 
72 
76 
80 
81 
83 
85 
80 
87 
86 
89 
100 
99 
73 
84 
93 
96 
89 
83 
70 
55 
38 
56 
52 
35 
37 
9 
6 
23 
28 
34 
39 
49 
49 
54 
45 
35 
55 
62 
61 
69 
67 
59 
58 
48 
65 
71 
57 
65 
66 
73 
64 

2                                           

3 

4                                

5                                                      

6                                    

7                                                

8                 

9                                                 

10 

11                                         ... 

12 

13                                           .               

14 

15                                                   

16 

17                             ...   

18  

19                            

20 

21              

22 

23  

24 

25  

26 

27 

28  

29 

30  ;  

31  

32 

33  

34 

35  

36     .. 

37 

38 

39          ... 

40 

41... 

42. 

43.   . 

44 

45  

46. 

47 

48  

49.   . 

50 

51... 

52  

Average  

137 

178 

1,228 

1,840 

82 

80 

77 

62 

1  The  busiest  week  in  each  of  these  columns  means  the  week  having  the  maximum  number  of  employees. 

2  The  busiest  week  in  each  of  these  columns  means  the  week  in  which  the  maximum  amount  of  wages 
was  paid. 

As  will  be  seen  from  these  figures  the  pieceworkers  show  practically 
the  same  average  percentage  of  employment  for  the  year  as  the  week 
workers.  The  average  weekly  wage,  however,  forms  a  lower  per- 
centage for  the  pieceworkers  than  for  the  week  workers.  In  the  $9 
group  (Table  72)  the  week  workers '  average  weekly  wage  is  71  per  cent 
of  the  highest  weekly  wage,  while  in  the  case  of  the  pieceworkers  it  is 


WAGES   AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DKESS   AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY,      175 

68  per  cent.  In  the  shops  manufacturing  medium-grade  garments 
the  week  workers'  average  weekly  rate  is  77  per  cent  of  the  highest 
weekly  wage  and  that  of  the  pieceworkers  is  only  62  per  cent. 

The  shops  to  which  the  above  figures  refer  are  all  conducted  under 
the  piecework  system.  In  all  piecework  shops  there  are  several 
occupations,  however,  that  are  paid  by  the  week,  such  as  cleaners, 
finishers,  examiners,  cutters,  etc.  In  these  shops  pieceworkers  and 
week  workers  do  not  compete  with  each  other;  on  the  contrary  they 
supplement  one  another.  When  the  operators  are  busy  there  is 
more  work  for  the  week  workers;  when  the  operators  have  little  to 
do  there  is  but  little  finishing,  cleaning,  and  other  operations  to 
perform.  How,  then,  is  the  fact  to  be  explained  that  the  average  weekly 
wage  of  the  pieceworkers  forms  a  lower  percentage  of  the  wages  of  the 
busiest  week  of  the  year  than  in  the  case  of  the  week  workers  ?  Two 
reasons  may  account  for  it:  First,  the  manufacturers  employ  a  rela- 
tively larger  number  of  pieceworkers  than  they  do  of  week  workers  in 
proportion  to  the  quantity  of  work  to  be  done  during  the  rush  weeks 
of  the  year.  When  work  falls  off  the  piecework  operators  are  allowed 
to  remain  in  the  shop  and  divide  whatever  work  there  is  among 
themselves.  In  the  case  of  the  week  workers,  one  of  the  considerations 
in  fixing  the  weekly  rate  of  wages  is  the  steadiness  of  .employment, 
and  it  is  to  the  interest  of  the  manufacturer  to  have  a  smaller  number 
of  experienced  workers  who  will  be  given  steady  employment,  in 
consideration  of  which  they  will  be  willing  to  accept  a  smaller  wage 
than  they  would  if  the  manufacturer  employed  a  large  number  of 
workers  of  various  degrees  of  skill,  a  considerable  part  of  whom 
would  have  to  be  laid  off  when  work  slackens.  Second,  during  the 
busiest  week  of  the  year  the  pieceworkers  work  much  harder,  as 
compared  with  the  rest  of  the  year,  than  the  week  workers.  The 
work  is  piled  up  beyond  the  capacity  of  the  shop  and,  therefore,  the 
loss  of  time  which  usually  takes  place  in  the  intervals  between  the 
completion  of  one  job  and  the  beginning  of  another,  is  now  reduced  to 
a  minimum.  Moreover,  the  pieceworker,  knowing  that  another 
"bundle"  is  awaiting  him  as  soon  as  he  is  through  with  the  one  he 
has  on  hand,  works  much  harder  than  at  other  tunes  of  the  year  and 
has  a  much  greater  incentive  to  do  so  than  the  week  worker.  All 
these  facts  combine  to  raise  the  pieceworkers'  earnings  during  the 
busiest  week  of  the  year  above  the  earnings  during  the  rest  of  the 
year  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  in  the  case  of  the  week  workers, 
and  therefore  make  the  average  weekly  earnings  look  much  smaller  in 
comparison  with  the  busiest  week  in  the  case  of  the  pieceworker  than 
in  that  of  the  week  worker. 

The  different  policies  in  the  treatment  of  pieceworkers  and  week 
workers  come  even  more  clearly  to  light  when  shops  in  which  the 
piecework  system  prevails  are  compared  with  shops  in  which  operators 


176  BULLETIN    OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 

work  by  the  week.  In  the  former  the  tendency  is  to  have  as  large  a 
number  of  operators  as  possible  during  the  rush  season,  most  of  whom 
are  allowed  to  remain  throughout  the  year  sharing  in  what  little  work 
there  is.  In  the  week- work  shops  the  tendency  is  to  retain  only  the 
best  workers  during  the  slow  season,  so  as  to  give  them  steady  em- 
ployment and  thus  retain  a  working  nucleus  throughout  the  year 
ready  to  be  enlarged  as  soon  as  the  demands  of  the  season  warrant  it 
The  policy  of  the  union  has  been  to  oppose  this  system  of  employment 
in  the  week  shops  and  to  attempt  as  far  as  possible  to  retain  all  of  th< 
workers  in  the  employ  of  the  shops.  In  the  shops  manufacturing  the 
cheaper  garments,  and  especially  in  the  smaller  shops,  the  union  hag 
been  fairly  successful  in  having  its  policy  adopted,  and  the  week 
workers  in  those  shops  work  by  turns  during  the  slow  period.  Th< 
workers  are  divided  into  two  or  more  groups,  which  report  for  duty 
on  alternating  days  or  weeks  or  whatever  other  periods  are  agreec 
upon  by  the  manufacturer  and  his  employees. 

HOURS  OF  LABOR. 

It  would  have  been  interesting  to  secure  information  as  to  the 
number  of  hours  actually  worked  by  the  employees  at  different  times 
of  the  year.  In  some  cases  information  on  this  point  could  not  be 
obtained  at  all,  and  in  others  would  have  been  exceedingly  difficult 
and  expensive  to  obtain.  So  far  as  pieceworkers  arc  concerned,  no 
record  is  kept  of  the  tune  they  work  except  in  a  few  shops.  Even  ii 
these  shops  a  record  is  kept  only  of  the  time  the  workers  spend  in  th< 
factory,  which  is  not  necessarily  the  tune  they  are  actually  at  work 
since  pieceworkers  frequently  spend  many  hours  a  day  in  the  factories 
without  doing  any  work,  especially  during  the  slow  season.  The  only 
employees  for  whom  an  accurate  record  of  hours  at  work  is  kept  are 
the  week  workers,  but  in  the  majority  of  the  shops  this  record  is  nol 
preserved  throughout  the  year,  and  the  time  has  to  be  recalculatec 
from  the  wages  paid  out  each  week. 

HOURS  DURING  BUSIEST  WEEK  IN  THE  YEAR. 

From  the  records  obtained  for  the  busiest  week  of  the  year  in  each 
factory  figures  have  been  compiled  as  to  the  hours  which  the  week 
workers  worked  during  that  week.  The  hours  worked  by  the  cutters 
have  been  separated  from  those  worked  by  other  employees,  since  th< 
limitation  as  to  overtime  does  not  apply  to  them  on  the  one  hand,  am 
on  the  other,  cutters  as  a  rule  work  more  steadily  than  the  rest  of  thi 
force. 

As  has  been  seen  in  Table  2  (p.  17),  which  represents  a  summary 
for  the  entire  industry,  only  a  minority  of  the  employees  (not  includ- 
ing the  cutters),  namely,  37.5  per  cent,  worked  the  normal  number  oi 


WAGES   AXD   EMPLOYMENT    IX    DRESS    AND -WAIST   INDUSTRY.      177 

50 hours;  29.4  per  cent,  or  almost  one-third,,  worked  less  than  50 hours. 
On  the  other  hand,  over  33  per  cent  worked  overtime,  so  that  over  70 
per  cent  of  all  the  week  workers,  not  including  cutters,  worked  50 
hours  or  more.  Of  those  who  worked  under  50  hours  nearly  three- 
fourths  worked  from  40  to  49  hours,  leaving  about  1,200  people,  or 
less  than  10  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  workers  working  less  than 
40  hours.  Among  these,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  table,  are  some  who 
worked  less  than  10  hours. 

In  the  case  of  the  cutters,  more  than  56  per  cent  worked  the  normal 
number  of  50  hours  and  more  than  87  per  cent  worked  50  hours  or 
more,  leaving  but  one-eighth  of  the  people  working  less  than  50  hours 
and  less  than  4  per  cent  working  less  than  40  hours. 

OVERTIME. 

So  far  as  overtime  is  concerned,  it  is  interesting  to  compare  the 
figures  of  1912  and  1913  when  the  protocol  limited  the  overtime  to 
four  hours  a  week  and  the  normal  hours  to  50.  Taking  first  week 
workers  other  than  cutters,  in  1912,  66.8  per  cent,  or  over  two- 
thirds,  worked  more  than  50  hotfrs;  in  1913  the  percentage  of  those 
working  more  than  50  hours  dropped  to  33.1  per  cent,  or  one-half 
of  what  it  was  the  preceding  year.  This  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
during  1912  the  normal  hours  in  the  various  shops  were  from  50  to  54 
per  week.  Taking  the  number  of  those  working  55  hours  and  over, 
the  percentage  declined  from  nearly  33  per  cent,  or  about  one-third, 
of  all  the  employees  in  1912  to  less  than  one-tenth  in  1913. 

In  regard  to  the  employees  working  overtime,  it  should  be  stated 
that  the  number  given  for  1913  is  not  entirely  accurate,  being  in  all 
probability  an  understatement  of  the  actual  facts.  This  was  due 
[to  the  fact  that  under  the  protocol  week  workers  are  entitled  to 
double  the  regular  rate  when  working  overtime.  In  several  instances 
it  was  not  clear  from  the  books  whether  a  worker  paid  for,  say,  58 
hours,  actually  worked  54  hours,  being  paid  double  for  overtime, 
or  worked  58  hours,  being  paid  for  overtime  at  the  regular  hourly  rate. 
In  all  such  cases,  unless  there  was  clear  proof  that  the  protocol 
provision  as  to  double  rate  for  overtime  was  violated,  the  manu- 
facturer was  given  the  benefit  of  the  doubt.  But  even  allowing 
for  this  understatement,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  number 
working  in  excess  of  50  hours  greatly  declined  during  1913,  especially 
when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  the  figures  given  here  are  for  the  busiest 
week  in  the  year,  when  the  number  of  hours  worked  is  as  a  rule 
greater  than  at  other  times  of  the  year. 

Two  tables  follow,  the  first  of  which,  Table  74,  gives  the  number 
and  per  cent  of  cutters  and  of  other  employees  (week  workers)  work- 

42132°— Bull.  146—14- 12 


178 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 


ing  each  classified  number  of  hours  in  the  association  and  nonassoei- 
ation  shops,  while  the  second,  Table  75,  gives  separate  figures  for  the 
factories  manufacturing  high-grade  and  low-grade  garments  in  the 
nonassociation  and  the  association  groups. 

TABLE  74.— NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  WEEK  WORKERS  EMPLOYED  EACH  CLASSI- 
FIED NUMBER  OF  HOURS  DURING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR  IN  ASSO- 
CIATION AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS,  1912  AND  1913. 

NUMBER. 


Hours  employed. 

Association  shops. 

Nonassociation  shops. 

Cutters. 

Other  employees. 

Cutters. 

Other  employ- 
ees. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

Under  10  hours  

5 
3 
6 
24 
95 
184 
260 
179 
172 
140 
91 
15 

12 
9 
12 
23 
124 
804 
160 
152 
117 
31 

1 

110 
122 
241 
413 
1,468 
1,161 
2,027 
1,678 
2^263 
1,022 
322 
69 

101 
163 
236 
404 
2,357 
4,608 
1,385 
1,418 
860 
178 
30 
4 

1 

14 
29 
68 
116 
310 
191 
401 
245 
372 
113 
17 
13 

16 
42 
120 
130 

623 
744 
292 
228 
246 
70 
8 

10  and  under  20  hours  .... 
20  and  under  30  hours  .  .  . 
30  and  under  40  hours.  .  . 
40  and  under  60  hours  .  .  . 
50  hours  

2 
3 
11 
21 
39 
28 
16 
6 
3 
7 

3 
3 
31 
165 
18 
13 
14 
3 
3 

51  and  under  53  hours  .  ... 
53  and  under  55  hours  .  .  . 
55  and  under  60  hours  .  .  . 
60  and  under  65  hours.  .  .  . 
65  and  under  70  hours  .  ... 
70  hours  and  over 

Total  

1,174 

1,455 

10,896 

11,744 

137 

253 

1,889  j      2,519 

PER  CENT. 


Under  10  hours  • 

10  and  under  20  hours  .  . 
20  and  under  30  hours.  . 
30  and  under  40  hours  .  . 
40  and  under  50  hours  .  . 
50  hours 

11 
16 

1'2 
55 

22 
11 

28 
39 

12 
15 

15 
65 

28 
10 

37 
30 

51  and  under  53  hours.  . 
53  and  under  55  hours  .  . 
55  and  under  60  hours  .  . 
60  and  under  65  hours.. 
65  and  under  70  hours  .  . 
70  hours  and  over 

}      - 
1      36 

21 
11 

34 
34 

24 
9 

49 
23 

12 

8 

34 

27 

21 
13 

' 

Total  

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.     179 


TABLE  75.— WEEK  WORKERS  EMPLOYED  EACH  CLASSIFIED  NUMBER  OF  HOURS  DUR- 
ING  THE  BUSIEST  WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR,  IN  LOW-GRADE  AND  HIGH-GRADE  ASSO- 
CIATION AND  NONASSOCIATION  SHOPS,  1912  AND  1913. 

Group  A. 


Jnder  10  hours 

10  and  under  20  hours. 
20  and  under  30  hours . 
30  and  under  40  hours . 
40  and  under  50  hours . 

50  hours 

51  and  under  53  hours . 
53  and  under  55  hours . 
55  and  under  60  hours . 
60  and  under  65  hours . 
65  and  under  70  hours . 
70  and  over 


Total 


Association. 


Cutters. 


1912 


4 
2 
4 

18 
46 
85 
138 
86 
121 
93 
71 


1913 


7 

8 

17 

78 

444 

83 

109 


Other  employees. 


Female. 


1912 


56 
83 
158 
250 
812 
662 
,254 
826 
,109 
611 
211 
21 


677       877   6,053   6,417 


1913 


100 

129 

232 

1,240 

2.699 

756 

634 

454 

85 

25 

3 


Male. 


1912 


407 


1913 


60 
189 
38 
31 
17 
25 


378 


Nonassociation. 


Cutters. 


1912     1913 


3 

24 
124 
14 
12 
12 

1 


196 


Other  employees. 


Female. 


1912     1913 


20 

56 

85 

241 

163 

254 

119 

174 

36 

10 

12 


1,178 


13 

28 
107 

85 
469 
272 
229 
179 
137 

40 
4 


1,563 


Male. 


1912     1913 


151 


2 
5 
5 

14 
30 
152 
18 
12 
32 
14 


284 


Group  B. 


Under  10  hours 

1 

3 

53 

38 

j 

1 

6 

1 

10  and  under  20  hours  . 

1 

2 

38 

59 

1 

3 

5 

9 

20  and  under  30  hours  . 

2 

4 

71 

101 

2 

1 

11 

7 

1 

30  and  under  40  hours  . 

6 

6 

153 

160 

3 

4 

1 

20 

29 

2 

40  and  under  50  hours  . 
50  hours 

49 

99 

46 
360 

590 
443 

1,018 
1,616 

21 
12 

39 
104 

6 
1 

7 
41 

53 
15 

123 
304 

1 

1 

16 

51  and  under  53  hours  . 
53  and  under  55  hours  . 
55  and  under  60  hours  . 
60  and  under  65  hours  . 
65  and  under  70  hours 

122 
93 
51 
47 
20 

77 
43 

28 
7 
2 

650 
752 
995 
370 
82 

563 
735 
378 
67 
3 

27 
24 
89 
10 
3 

28 
18 
11 

1 

16 
5 
2 
2 

4 
1 
2 
2 

103 
110 
166 
47 
4 

44 
36 
75 
15 
4 

5 
5 

4 
4 

1 
1 
2 
1 

70  and  over  

16 

241 

1 

36 

4  4 

61 

Total 

497 

578 

4,238 

4,739 

198 

210 

38 

57 

541 

647 

19 

25 

1  Highest  76J  hours. 

2  Highest  82J  hours. 


s  Highest  75  hours. 
«  Highest  78  hours. 


6  Highest  73  hours. 


Comparing  the  figures  for  1912  with  those  for  1913,  as  shown 
in  Table  74,  it  is  found  that  both  in  the  association  and  the  non- 
association  union  shops  the  number  of  persons  working  more  than 
50  hours  a  week  has  been  greatly  reduced,  while  the  number  of  those 
working  50  hours  a  week  or  less  has  increased.  Excluding  cutters,  all 
of  whom  are  men,  the  percentage  of  employees  working  51  hours  or 
more  has  been  reduced  from  68  per  cent,  or  more  than  two-thirds,  in 
association  shops  in  1912,  to  33  per  cent,  or  only  one-third,  in  1913,  while 
in  the  nonassociation  shops,. the  reduction  has  been  from  61  percent 
in  1912  to  34  per  cent  in  1913.  Of  those  working  50  hours  a  week  the 
proportion  has  increased  in  the  association  shops  from  11  per  cent  to 
39  per  cent,  and  in  the  nonassociation  shops  from  10  per  cent  to  30  per 
cent.  The  percentage  of  those  working  less  than  50  hours  in  the 


180  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR    STATISTICS. 

association  shops  has  increased  from  22  in  1912  to  28  in  1913,  and  in 
the  nonassociation  shops  from  28  to  37. 

The  same  tendency  is  observed  in  the  case  of  the  hours  of  the  cut- 
ters except  that  a  much  smaller  proportion  of  persons  were  working, 
less  than  50  hours,  namely,  only  12  per  cent  in  the  association  and  15 
per  cent  in  the  nonassociation  shops  in  1913,  and  a  much  higher  pro- 
portion were  working  50  hours  in  the  week,  namely,  55  per  cent  in 
the  association  shops  and  65  per  cent  in  the  nonassociation  shops. 

As  will  be  seen  from  Table  74  there  is  no  marked  difference  in  the 
Dercentage  of  employees  working  different  numbers  of  hours  in  the 
nonassociation  and  association  shops.  The  difference  is  more  marked 
as  regards  cutters,  the  number  of  cutters  working  more  than  50  hours 
in  1913  constituting  32  per  cent  of  the  total  in  the  association  shops 
and  only  20  per  cent  in  the  nonassociation  shops. 

The  reason  for  the  greater  extent  of  overtime  among  cutters  in  the 
association  shops  as  compared  with  the  nonassociation  shops  lies  in  the 
fact  that  during  the  "  rush  "  weeks  there  is  much  greater  activity  in  the 
shops  making  the  higher-priced  garments  than  in  those  manufacturing 
low-priced  garments,  the  association  having  a  higher  percentage  of  the 
high-grade  garment  shops  than  the  nonassociation  shops.  This  is 
shown  very  clearly  on  Chart  18,  where  the  high  peak  in  March  rises  to 
147  per  cent  for  the  high-grade  garment  shops,  and  only  to  125  per  cent 
for  the  low-grade.  The  market  demand  may  be  just  as  great  for  the 
low-grade  garments  as  for  the  high-grade  at  that  time,  but  the  manu- 
facturers of  the  low-grade  garments  have  been  able  to  work  during  the 
preceding  months  making  up  stock,  while  the  high-grade  garment 
manufacturers  are  not  in  a  position  to  do  so  on  account  of  the  frequent 
changes  in  styles.  The  relative  position  of  the  curves  representing 
these  two  branches  of  the  industry  during  the  period  from  the  middle 
of  October  to  the  middle  of  December  shows  this  state  of  affairs. 

HOURS  OF  WORK  OF  PIECEWORKERS. 

As  already  stated,  very  few  shops  keep  records  of  the  time  spent  at 
the  factory  by  pieceworkers. 

Records  were  obtained  from  22  shops  for  333  pieceworkeis  in.  1913 
and  98  in  1912.  The  figures  for  these  are  shown  in  Table  76,  giving 
separately  the  hours  in  association  and  nonassociation  shops,  as  well 
as  the  percentage  for  the  two  groups  combined. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT  IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.      181 


VHLK  7(>.-TIOURS  OF  WORK  OF  PIECEWORKERS  IN  22  SHOPS  DURING  THE  BUSIEST 
WEEK  OF  THE  YEAR,  1912  AND  1913. 


I  lours  worked. 

Association  shops. 

Nonassociation 
shops. 

Total. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

1912 

1913 

19.5 

41.7 
30.9 

7.8 

Under  10  hours     

2 
6 
12 
19 
123 
62 
18 
6 

2 
4 
8 
12 
16 
41 
2 

4 
10 
20 
31 
139 
103 
20 
6 

t      8.2 

41.8 
21.4 

}    16.3 
|    12.2 

10  and  under  20  hours 

1 
1 

1 

2 
5 
41 
21 
7 
9 
9 
3 

20  and  under  30  hours 

1 
5 
32 
13 
7 
9 
9 
3 

30  and  under  40  hours  
40  and  under  50  hours  
50  

9 

8 

51  and  under  53  hours  
53  and  under  55  hours 

55  and  under  CO  hours  

60  and  under  65  hours  
Total  

79 

248 

19 

85 

98 

333 

100.0 

100.0 

The  extent  of  overtime  seems  to  have  been  much  less  among  piece- 
workers than  among  week  workers,  those  working  more  than  50 
hours  in  1913  being  only  7.8  per  cent  of  all  the  pieceworkers,  as  against 
33.1  per  cent  among  the  week  workers.  Of  those  working  less  than  50 
hours  during  the  busiest  week  of  the  year,  two-thirds  worked  from  40 
to  49  hours;  about  one-fifth  of  all  the  workers  worked  from  less  than 
10  to  39  hours  during  the  busiest  week  in  the  year.  No  piecework- 
ers were  found  working  more  than  54  hours  during  1913  among  the  333 
employees  for  whom  records  were  obtained.  While  the  number  of 
workers  for  which  these  figures  are  given  is  comparatively  small,  the 
figures  may  be  accepted  as  fairly  representative  of  the  industry,  since 
they  were  obtained  from  22  factories  employing  a  total  of  about  900 
workers,  two-thirds  of  whom  were  employed  in  1 1  association  shops 
and  one-third  in  11  nonassociation  shops.  The  significant  fact  about 
these  figures  is  that  even  during  the  busiest  week  of  the  year  more 
than  60  per  cent  of  the  workers  were  at  work  less  than  50  hours  a 
week.  Moreover,  the  figures  show  merely  the  number  of  hours  they 
spent  in  the  factories  and  not  those  they  actually  worked. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  protocol  has  provided  definite  minimum  weekly  rates  of 
wages  for  the  following  occupations:  Drapers,  joiners,  examiners, 
sample  hands,  ironers,  pressers,  finishers.  There  was  also  a  supple- 
mentary understanding  as  to  a  minimum  rate  for  cleaners.  For 
cutters,  in  addition  to  the  rate  for  competent  skilled  mechanics,  three 
rates  were  provided  for  apprentices,  according  to  the  length  of  service. 
No  provision  was  made  as  to  the  rates  of  wages  to  be  paid  in  other 
occupations,  except  that  a  basis  was  provided  for  the  adjustment  of 
piece  rates  for  operators. 


182  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 

The  report  shows  very  clearly  the  effect  of  providing  a  sii 
minimum  rate  for  an  occupation.     Looking  at  the  charts  for  cleaners, 
drapers,  examiners,  finishers,  ironers,  joiners,  and  sample  makers  01 
the  one  hand  and  at  those  for  cutters  on  the  other,  there  is  found  i] 
every  case  in  the  first-mentioned  group  one  high  peak  correspond!] 
to  the  minimum  wage  rate  provided  for  in  the  protocol;  in  the  cu1 
ters'  wages  four  peaks  are  found  corresponding  to  the  four  rates  prc 
vided  for  in  the  protocol.     In  other  words,  there  is  a  tendency  foi 
a  great  many,  if  not  most,  of  the  workers  in  this  trade  to  concen- 
trate about  the  minimum  protocol  rate.     This  explains  the  genera 
complaint  on  the  part  of  the  workers  that  the  minimum  tends 
become  the  maximum,  and  on  the  part  of  some  employers  that  th< 
protocol  has  dealt  unjustly  with  them  in  compelling  them  to  pa] 
the  minimum  rate  to  apprentices  by  failing  to  provide  a  special  rat 
for  the  latter.     The  investigation  has  shown  the  contention  of  eithei 
side  to  be  extreme,  though  each  has  its  justification  in  fact.    The 
figures  show  on  the  one  hand  that  there  are  almost  as  many  workers 
receiving  more  than  the  minimum  protocol  rate  as  there  are  of  those 
getting  the  minimum,  and  on  the  other  that  from  one-fourth  to  one- 
half  of  the  workers  in  each  of  the  trades  covered  by  the  protocol 
received  less  than  the  minimum  rate  provided  therein. 

GRADUATED  SCALE  OF  WEEKLY  WAGES. 

The  example  of  the  cutters  seems  to  point  the  way  to  a  solution 
of  this  difficulty  by  providing  for  reasonable  rates  to  apprentices  of 
various  degrees  of  skill.  The  large  number  of  those  who  were  paid 
less  than  the  protocol  rate  in  the  several  trades  is  an  indication 
of  the  fact  that  it  probably  includes  a  considerable  proportion  of 
apprentices  who  may  not  be  able  to  earn  the  minimum  rate  pro- 
vided for.  The  fact  that  there  is  no  school  to  teach  these  trades 
and  that  the  only  means  open  to  newly  recruited  workers  to  learn 
the  trade  is  by  entering  the  shops  at  wages  commensurate  with  the 
value  of  the  services  they  can  render,  while  acquiring  the  necessary 
skill,  furnishes  a  further  corroboration  of  the  fact  that  the  nonpay- 
ment of  the  minimum  rate  to  a  considerable  number  of  workers  was 
not  entirely  due  to  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  manufacturers  to 
violate  the  provisions  of  the  protocol.  The  fourfold  rate  for  the 
cutters  points  the  way  out  of  the  difficulty  for  the  other  trades.  At 
least  one  rate,  it  seems,  should  be  provided  for  apprentices  in  each 
trade.  One  or  more  additional  rates  could  probably  be  added  for 
workers  of  higher  skill,  the  rate  being  made  conditional  either  upon 
the  time  the  worker  has  spent  in  the  trade  or  upon  the  skill  to  be 
determined  in  a  certain  manner.  The  effect  of  providing  these  addi- 
tional rates  on  the  one  hand  would  be  to  do  away  with  the  im- 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS    AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.      183 

proper  payment  below  the  protocol  scale  and  thus  meet  the  demand 
of  the  manufacturers  for  a  special  rate  of  wages  for  apprentices,  and 
on  the  other  it  would  provide  for  more  than  minimum  rates  to 
highly  skilled  workers  and  thus  meet  the  complaint  of  the  workers 
as  to  the  tendency  of  the  minimum  rate  to  become  the  principal 
rate  for  skilled  workers. 

While  it  is  not  within  the  province  of  this  report  to  suggest  a 
detailed  scheme  and  methods  of  grading  the  workers  for  such  a  pur- 
pose, it  will  unquestionably  be  recognized  by  eveiy  experienced 
manufacturer  and  worker  that  the  workers  in  the  several  trades  of 
this  industry  can  be  roughly  divided  into  at  least  four  groups:  1, 
Apprentices;  2,  workers  who  have  graduated  from  the  apprentice 
stage  but  are  of  less  than  average  skill;  3,  workers  of  average  skill; 
4,  workers  of  more  than  average  skill.  The  four  degrees  of  skill  call 
for  four  different  rates  of  wages.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  are  sev- 
eral gradations  from  one  group  to  the  next  which  are  recognized  in 
actual  practice  by  as  many  different  rates. 

In  providing  for  the  rates  that  it  has,  the  protocol  has  made  a 
beginning  in  an  attempt  at  collective  regulation  of  wages  in  the 
industry  under  the  joint  auspices  of  the  two  partners  to  the  industry, 
the  employers  and  the  employees,  for  the  benefit  of  the  industry  as 
a  whole.  This  benefit  extends  to  the  workers,  inasmuch  as  it  helps 
to  protect  the  weak  members  and  the  recent  recruits.  It  benefits 
the  manufacturers,  inasmuch  as  it  tends  to  put  an  end  to  unfair 
competition  between  manufacturer  and  manufacturer  through  the 
payment  of  wages  in  some  shops  below  the  current  rates. 

It  is  not  to  be  presumed  in  what  has  just  been  said  or  in  what 
follows  that  definite  recommendations  are  here  made,  beyond  sug- 
gesting a  number  of  measures  for  the  purpose  of  discussion  by  the 
two  parties  to  the  protocol.  It  is  conceded  on  both  sides  that  the 
protocol  has  but  made  a  beginning  and  that  it  needs  further  ampli- 
fication and  modification  in  a  number  of  vital  points. 

REGISTRATION  OF  APPRENTICES. 

The  adoption  of  a  special  rate  or  rates  for  apprentices  in  the  different 
occupations  suggests  the  necessity  of  some  method  of  controlling  the 
apprentice  situation.  Such  registration  of  each  individual  apprentice 
employed  in  the  shops  supervised  by  the  association  or  by  the  union 
as  will  enable  the  wage-scale  board  and  other  officers  of  the  associa- 
tion and  the  union  who  are  concerned  in  this  matter  to  control  the 
situation  and  prevent  possible  abuse  has  been  under  consideration 
by  the  wage-scale  board  and  a  registration  card  has  even  been 
worked  out  for  that  purpose. 


184  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

TRADE  SCHOOL. 

Another  measure  for  dealing  with  the  apprentice  problem  is  the 
establishment  of  a  school  for  the  training  of  skilled  workers.  It  is  a 
question  whether  there  is  another  industry  that  has  so  difficult  a 
problem  in  this  respect  as  the  dress  and  waist  industry  in  New  York 
City.  On  the  one  hand,  standing  at  the  head  of  the  industry  in  the 
country,  supplying  the  constantly  growing  demand  for  high-grade 
ready-made  women's  garments,  it  is  in  great  need  of  workers  of  the 
highest  skill.  The  seasonal  character  of  the  market  results  in  the 
demand  for  such  help  usually  outrunning  the  supply  during  certain 
periods  of  the  year.  On  the  other  hand,  the  fact  that  about  85  per 
cent  of  its  skilled  operators  are  women,  mostly  young,  of  whom  it  is 
calculated  about  one-fifth  leave  the  industry  each  year  to  marry, 
makes  the  problem  of  keeping  up  the  supply  of  skilled  workers  a 
very  acute  and  difficult  one.  The  apprenticing,  as  it  goes  on  in  the 
shops,  does  not  offer  a  very  encouraging  solution.  As  is  pointed  out 
in  the  report,  the  new  recruits  enter  the  shops  manufacturing  cheaper 
garments  and  are  there  given  a  training  which  does  not  fit  them  for  the 
work  in  the  shops  manufacturing  the  higher-grade  garments.  The 
necessity  of  establishing  a  school  for  the  purpose  of  training  new 
workers  is  so  apparent  that  it  has  been  suggested  repeatedly  by  both 
sides.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  means  will  soon  be  found  for  putting 
into  practice  the  idea  here  barely  sketched. 

Through  a  complete  and  intimate  cooperation  between  the  asso- 
ciation and  the  union  it  should  be  possible  to  establish  the  school  on  a 
largo  scale,  manned  by  competent  instructors,  taken  preferably  from 
among  the  foremen  and  forewomen  in  the  most  successful  shops,  the 
pupils  or  apprentices  to  be  taught  the  trade  by  being  given  work  of  a 
practical  character,  preferably  on  orders  to  be  assigned  to  the  school 
by  the  manufacturers.  The  school  could  thus  act  as  a  contractor  for 
the  manufacturer  and  in  this  manner  would  on  one  hand  avoid  com- 
peting in  the  markets  with  established  shops,  and  on  the  other  would 
offer  a  ready  means  for  manufacturers  to  call  for  assistance  when  their 
shops  were  worked  to  capacity.  Such  an  arrangement  would  have  the 
further  advantage  of  enabling  the  pupils  to  earn  a  living  while  learning 
the  trade  and  would  make  the  school  practically  self-supporting. 

The  registration  of  apprentices,  already  suggested,  would  serve  as 
the  first  step  in  determining  the  available  material  for  such  a  school 
and  the  extent  to  which  the  industry  could  at  once  utilize  it.  Such 
registration  could  be  used  also  as  a  means  of  controlling  the  admission 
of  apprentices  to  the  school  and  their  distribution  in  the  industry  at 
proper  minimum  rates  of  compensation. 


WAGES   AND    EMPLOYMENT  IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.     185 
UNIFORM  PAY  ROLL. 

A  graduated  scale  of  weekly  wages,  involving  as  it  docs  some  control 
by  the  wage-scale  board  over  the  matters  of  interpretation  of  the 
degrees  of  skill  possessed  by  different  workers  in  cases  of  dispute 
between  manufacturers  and  their  employees,  implies  the  advisability, 
if  not  the  necessity,  of  a  uniform  pay  roll  to  be  designed  by  the  wage- 
scale  board  and  supplied  to  all  the  manufacturers  in  the  trade  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  a  uniform  record  of  wages  paid  throughout  the 
industry.  The  form  for  a  uniform  pay  roll  could  easily  be  designed, 
printed  in  large  quantities  by  the  wage-scale  board,  and  supplied 
to  every  manufacturer  at  a  lower  cost  than  the  price  now  paid  by 
them  for  books  of  various  descriptions  bought  at  retail  from  stationery 
stores.  It  would  likewise  facilitate  future  investigations  of  wages  in 
the  industry  when  required.  An  investigation  such  as  the  present 
could  be  carried  out  and  completed  in  probably  one-third  the  time 
that  it  took  if  a  uniform  pay  roll  of  the  kind  suggested  were  adopted 
by  the  industry. 

WHITE  PROTOCOL  LABEL. 

At  the  time  of  the  signing  of  the  protocol  the  desirability  of  adopting 
a  label  which  would  serve  as  a  joint  guaranty  by  the  union  and  by  the 
association,  as  well  as  by  representatives  of  the  outside,  public,  of  the 
conditions  under  which  the  products  of  the  industry  are  manufac- 
tured, was  clearly  recognized,  and  found  expression  in  article  2  of  the 
protocol,  reading  as  follows: 

To  make  more  effective  the  maintenance  of  sanitary  conditions 
throughout  the  industry,  to  insure  equality  of  minimum  standards 
throughout  the  industry,  and  to  guarantee  to  the  public  garments 
made  in  the  shops  certificated  by  the  board  of  sanitary  control,  the 
parties  agree  that  there  shall  be  instituted  in  the  industry  a  system 
of  certificating  garments  by  a  label  to  be  affixed  to  the  garment. 
Recognizing  the  difficulties  of  working  out  the  details  of  such  a  plan 
at  this  time,  but  believing  that  the  plan  has  been  sufficiently  developed 
and  considered  in  the  cloak  industry,  they  believe  that  a  complete 
plan  can  be  worked  out  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry  within  a  year. 
To  this  end  each  party  agrees  to  cooperate  to  the  full  extent  of  its 
power  in  the  formulation  and  effectuation  of  a  system  for  the  certifi- 
cation of  garments  adequately  safeguarding  the  employers,  the 
workers,  and  the  consuming  public. 

The  difficulties  attending  the  working  out  of  the  practical  application 
of  the  protocol  during  the  first  year  of  its  existence  nave  kept  both 
parties  so  busy  that  thus  far  little  has  been  done  toward  the  realization 
of  this  promise.  A  beginning,  however,  has  been  made.  It  has  been 
recognized  both  by  the  representatives  of  the  association  and  of  the 
union  that  the  Consumers'  League  would  be  an  admirable  ally  in  this 
undertaking  and  the  proper  body  to  represent  the  public  in  this  matter. 


186  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 

In  turn,  the  National  Consumers'  League,  at  its  last  annual  conven- 
tion in  Buffalo,  held  in  December,  1913,  authorized  its  executive 
officers  to  join  hands  with  the  association  and  the  union  whenever  the 
two  parties  are  prepared  to  introduce  the  label,  and  as  soon  as  the 
Consumers'  League  feels  that  the  steps  taken  warrant  the  withdrawal 
of  its  own  label  and  the  substitution  of  the  protocol  label  instead. 

The  enforcement  of  the  protocol  rates  of  wages  in  the  shops  super- 
vised by  the  association  and  the  union,  side  by  side  with  the  existence 
of  shops  not  so  supervised  (especially  outside  the  city  of  New 
York)  and  paying  lower  wages,  readily  offers  a  condition  of  unfair 
competition  to  the  manufacturers  of  New  York  City.  If  any  argu- 
ment be  needed  for  the  earliest  possible  adoption  of  a  label  which 
would  insure  the  cooperation  of  a  large  part  of  the  public  with  the 
dress  and  waist  industry  of  New  York  in  a  common  effort  to  maintain 
sanitary  conditions  and  living  wages  in  that  industry,  it  is  here 
furnished.  The  existence  of  a  new  thought  among  the  consumers 
of  the  country,  the  great  growth  in  numbers  among  such  people 
as  a  result  of  the  agitation  of  organizations  like  the  Consumers' 
League  <and  similar  bodies  offers  great  encouragement  to  the  industry. 
The  next  step  is  to  provide  efficient  machinery  and  channels  through 
which  fair-minded  consumers  can  exercise  intelligently  their  prefer- 
ence for  goods  manufactured  under  fair  and  wholesome  conditions. 
The  taking  of  this  step  would  be  a  measure  of  justice  to  the  manu- 
facturer now  paying  wages  higher  than  those  paid  by  his  competitors 
outside  of  the  city,  and  at  the  same  time  would  tend  to  protect  and 
maintain  the  standard  of  compensation  provided  in  the  protocol. 
Last,  but  not  least,  it  would  protect  the  public  from  the  use  of  gar- 
ments made  under  insanitary  conditions  and  by  greatly  underpaid 
labor. 

The  adoption  of  the  label  would  in  its  turn  offer  an  additional  cause 
for  the  effective  supervision  by  the  wage-scale  board  or  a  similar  body 
over  the  wages  paid  in  the  shops  desiring  to  use  the  label  upon  their 
product,  and  the  adoption  of  a  uniform  pay  roll  would  furnish  a  basis 
for  efficient  control. 

UNIFORM  PIECE  RATES. 

The  question  of  the  working  out  of  a  schedule  of  uniform  piece  rates 
for  work  of  similar  character  throughout  the  industry  has  been  the 
subject  of  serious  consideration  of  the  wage-scale  board  from  its  in- 
ception. A  beginning  has  been  made  through  an  intensive  study  of  the 
processes  of  the  manufacture  of  waists.  This  study  was  carried  on 
in  a  number  of  shops  during  the  fall  season  of  1913.  Owing  to  the 
brevity  of  the  season  and  the  complexity  of  the  problem,  material  has 
been  collected  to  furnish  a  basis  for  the  adoption  of  uniform  piece  rates 
for  the  $9-a-dozen  waists  only.  This  material  forms  the  contents  of 


WAGES   AND  EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.     187 

Part  II  of  this  report.  By  way  of  anticipation,  it  may  be  stated 
here  that  the  experiment  has  furnished  an  affirmative  answer  to  the 
question  whether  the  standardization  of  piece  rates  in  an  industry 
like  the  dress  and  waist  industry  in  which  the  character  of  the  gar- 
ments undergoes  frequent  and  rapid  changes  decreed  by  fashion,  is 
practicable. 

The  standardization  of  rates,  however,  unavoidably  carries  with  it 
standardization  of  conditions.  A  uniform  rate  for  the  same  kind  of 
work  paid  in  a  shop  managed  with  the  highest  degree  of  efficiency, 
where  workers  can  turn  out  twice  the  product  that  is  possible  for 
workers  of  equal  skill  in  a  shop  suffering  from  lack  of  system  and  in- 
telligent management,  would  be  obviously  unfair  to  the  efficient  manu- 
facturer on  the  one  hand  and  to  the  employees  of  the  inefficient  one 
on  the  other. 

It,  therefore,  follows  that  the  adoption  of  uniform  piece  rates  will 
necessarily  have  to  be  preceded  by  the  carrying  out  of  plans  such  as 
suggested  above  tending  to  lift  the  lower  end  of  the  industry  to  a 
higher  level  and  thus  bring  about  greater  uniformity  throughout 
the  industry. 

Without  urging  the  adoption  of  the  suggestions  outlined  above,  and 
offering  them  solely  as  a  basis  for  discussion  by  the  representatives  of 
the  association  and  the  union,  it  is  hoped  fervently  that,  having  made 
so  promising  a  beginning  in  the  adoption  of  the  protocol,  and  having 
weathered  the  storm  of  strife  naturally  concomitant  with  the  first 
attempt  to  bring  into  play  a  controlling  power  over  the  relations  be- 
tween employer  and  employee,  the  industry  will  gather  strength  for 
further  progress.  Through  mutual  cooperation  and  increased  con- 
fidence of  ihe  two  great  partners  in  each  other,  it  should  proceed  with 
the  work  of  upbuilding  and  general  improvement  and  substitute 
orderly  and  intelligent  planning  for  the  blind  chance  and  groping  so 
conspicuously  marking  the  days  of  the  past. 


PART  II.— STANDARDIZATION  OF  PIECE  RATES. 
ADJUSTMENT  OF  PIECE  RATES  UNDER  THE  PROTOCOL. 

The  protocol  adopted  the  following  basis  for  the  adjustment  of 
piece  rates  for  new  garments,  which  is  set  forth  in  the  following  para- 
graphs of  Article  X  of  the  protocol: 

c.  In  settling  prices  the  price  per  garment  shall  be  based  upon  the  estimated  num- 
ber of  solid  hours  it  will  take  an  experienced  good  worker  to  make  the  garment  without 
interruption,  multiplied  by  the  standard  price  per  hour. 

d.  If  the  piece-price  committee  and  the  employer  shall  be  unable  to  agree  after  a 
conference,  the  work  shall  then  be  proceeded  with,  but  the  determination  of  the  price 
to  be  paid  for  the  work  shall  be  made  as  follows: 

e.  One  or  more  workers  shall  be  selected  to  make  the  test  for  the  purpose  of  deter- 
mining the  number  of  solid  hours  it  will  take  an  experienced  good  worker  to  make  the 
garment  in  question. 

f .  Both  the  employer  and  the  piece-price  committee  shall  agree  upon  the  operative 
who  is  to  make  the  test,  but  in  case  they  shall  fail  to  agree  the  wage-scale  board  shall 
make  such  designation. 

This  method  of  adjusting  piece  rates  has  been  in  effect  for  more 
than  a  year  since  the  adoption  of  the  protocol.  While  it  has  helped 
employer  and  employee  to  arrive  at  an  agreement  as  to  piece  rates  in 
cases  of  disagreement,  it  has  not  proved  an  unqualified  success  and 
has  met  with  objections  from  both  parties  to  the  protocol.  Although 
paragraph  "e"  states  that  "one  or  more  workers  shall  be  selected  to 
make  the  test,"  paragraph  "f"  speaks  of  only  one  operative  who  is 
to  make  the  test,  and  in  actual  practice  only  one  has  been  selected 
as  a  rule. 

The  expression  "an  experienced  good  worker"  is  one  that  lends 
itself  to  varied  interpretations  and  as  a  result  leads  to  dispute  between 
the  employer  and  his  employees  or  the  price  committee  of  his  shop. 

Even  after  an  employer  and  the  price  committee  have  agreed  upon 
a  worker  who  is  to  make  the  test,  the  result  of  the  test  is  not  always 
accepted  without  objections  on  either  side.  If  the  employer's  idea 
as  to  what  would  be  a  proper  price  for  a  new  garment  differs  very 
widely  from  that  of  the  price  committee,  and  the  result  of  the  test 
comes  very  close  to  his  original  offer,  the  workers  are  apt  to  find  fault 
with  the  test  either  on  the  ground  that  the  operator  chosen  for  the 
test  is  an  exceptionally  fast  worker,  or  they  may  charge  speeding  up 
on  the  part  of  the  manufacturer  by  holding  out  special  inducements 

189 


190  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 

to  the  test  worker  to  get  through  with  her  test  in  the  shortest  possible 
time.  The  claim  is  then  made  that  it  is  impossible  for  an  operator 
to  keep  up  such  speed  working  day  in  and  out,  and  that  therefore  at 
the  rate  settled  by  the  test  they  will  not  be  able  to  earn  an  adequate 
wage. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  test  results  in  a  confirmation  of  the  work- 
ers' original  demand,  or  very  nearly  so,  the  employer  is  apt  to  find 
fault  with  it  and  to  claim  that  the  operator  chosen  for  the  test,  being 
one  of  the  workers  to  be  benefited  by  whatever  rate  may  be  adopted, 
has  deliberately  "soldiered"  on  the  job  and  taken  more  time  to  com- 
plete the  garment  than  was  necessary. 

In  all  such  cases  an  appeal  may  be  taken  to  the  wage-scale  boar< 
and  a  new  test  ordered  under  the  supervision  of  the  representative 
of  the  union  and  of  the  association.  All  of  this  engenders  frictioi 
between  the  employer  and  his  help,  and  interferes  with  the  orderly 
conduct  of  the  business  of  the  employer,  and  on  the  other  hand  cr* 
ates  a  great  deal  of  dissatisfaction  among  the  workers  on  account 
the  delay  in  the  adjustment  of  claims  for  back  pay. 

While  cases  of  this  kind  are  by  no  means  the  rule,  they  are  of  suffi- 
ciently frequent  occurrence  to  have  caused  considerable  dissatisfac- 
tion with  the  test  system,  both  among  manufacturers  and  operators, 
and  both  sides  would  welcome  a  method  that  would  do  away  with  the 
defects  inherent  in  the  present  method  of  adjusting  piece  rates. 
Even  before  the  method  had  been  sanctioned  by  the  protocol,  the 
desirability  of  working  out  a  scientific  piece-rate  schedule  was  present 
in  the  minds  of  the  framers  of  the  protocol,  and  found  expression  in 
the  following  provision  in  Article  VII  of  the  protocol  which  charged 
the  wage-scale  board  with  the  duty  of  preserving  "data  and  statistics 
with  a  view  to  establishing  as  nearly  practicably  as  possible  a  scien- 
tific basis  for  the  fixing  of  piece  and  week  work  prices  throughout  the 
industry  that  will  insure  a  minimum  wage  and  at  the  same  time  permit 
reward  for  increased  efficiency." 

SCOPE   OF  THE   INVESTIGATION. 

After  the  completion  of  the  statistical  investigation  into  wages  and 
hours  in  the  industry,  the  results  of  which  are  set  forth  in  Part  I  of 
the  present  report,  the  wage-scale  board  instructed  the  writer  to  make 
a  study  of  the  manufacturing  processes  in  the  dress  and  waist  indus- 
try with  a  view  to  discovering,  if  possible,  a  basis  for  the  construction 
of  a  piece-rate  schedule  or  schedules  which  could  be  applied  through- 
out the  industry  or  branches  of  the  industry  independently  of  changes 
in  the  styles  of  garments. 

This  study  was  carried  out  during  the  fall  season  of  191 3,  lasting 
between  two  and  three  months.  It  covered  eight  shops  in  which 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DRESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    191 

the  processes  were  studied  in  detail,  in  addition  to  several  shops  in 
which  a  general  study  of  the  methods  of  manufacture  and  the  organi- 
zation of  the  work  was  made  without  the  timing  of  the  separate 
processes. 

Of  the  eight  shops  investigated,  five  are  exclusively  shops  making 
waists  to  sell  at  $9  per  dozen,  the  three  remaining  shops  manufac- 
turing waists  selling  at  $16.50  to  $42  per  dozen,  and  in  a  few  instances 
as  high  as  $60  and  $72  a  dozen.  Occasionally  these  shops  also  make 
a  few  $9  styles  to  accommodate  a  special  demand;  but  the  bulk  of 
their  production  covers  a  range  of  $16.50  to  $24.  All  the  shops  men- 
tioned, with  the  exception  of  one  manufacturing  $9  waists,  employ 
their  help  on  a  piece-rate  basis.  By  saying  that  a  shop  employs  its 
help  on  a  piece-rate  basis  it  is  not  meant  that  all  the  work  is  paid 
for  by  the  piece.  Certain  processes  are  invariably  paid  for  by  the 
week.  Among  these  are  cutting,  examining,  draping,  and  sample 
making.  When  a  shop  is  designated  as  a  piecework  shop,  it  is  meant 
that  the  operating  is  paid  for  by  the  piece,  but  even  in  that  case 
many  of  the  operating  processes  are  paid  for  by  the  week.  Thus, 
taking  the  $9  shops  with  which  this  part  of  the  present  report  deals, 
we  find  the  following  division  of  labor  and  methods  of  compensation 
prevailing: 

In  shop  No.  1232  body  making,  which  is  paid  on  a  piece  basis, 
includes  the  following  processes:  Closing  shoulders,  making  centers, 
tacking  fronts  and  backs,  setting  collars.1  All  the  trimming  is  done 
by  special  operators  called  trimmers  who  are  paid  by  the  week.  The 
sleeve  making  is  done  by  other  operators,  who  are  paid  by  the  week; 
the  hemming  is  done  by  the  piece;  the  closing  and  the  sleeve  setting 
are  done  by  a  man  operator,  who  is  paid  by  the  piece;  the  buttonhole 
making  is  paid  for  by  the  week,  as  is  also  the  button  sewing. 

In  shop  No.  1284  the  body  making  is  likewise  done  by  the  piece, 
but,  unlike  the  preceding  shop,  the  trimming  is  done  by  the  body 
makers  on  a  piece-rate  basis.  The  closing  and  hemming  are  done 
by  the  piece,  all  being  attended  to  by  one  operator  having  four 
assistants.  The  same  operator  with  his  assistants  attends  to  the 
sleeve  setting;  the  sleeve  making  is  done  by  the  body  makers  on  a 
piece-rate  basis;  the  buttonhole  making  is  paid  for  on  a  piece-rate 
basis  and  is  attended  to  by  one  operator,  who  employs  two  assistants 
on  a  week  basis.  The  same  is  true  of  button  sewing.  Tucking  is 
done  by  the  week. 

In  shop  No.  1230  body  making  is  done  by  the  piece;  the  trimming 
is  done  by  the  piece  by  a  man  having  an  assistant;  the  sleeve  setting 
is  done  by  the  piece,  while  the  sleeve  making,  tucking,  lace  running, 
buttonhole  making,  and  button  sewing  are  done  by  the  week. 

1  For  a  description  of  these  processes,  see  Part  I  of  this  report,  pages  93,  94. 


192 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


The  method  of  compensation  for  the  different  operating  processes 
is  shown  in  the  following  comparative  statement  for  four  of  the  prin- 
cipal shops  investigated,  all  making  waists  selling  at  $9  a  dozen:1 

Buttonhole  making. 


Shop  No.  1191. 

Week  work — $15  per 
week. 


Week  work. 


Work  done  by  a  set  of 
3  to  5  persons  work- 
ing by  the  week; 
each  person  does 
one  or  more  proc- 
esses according  to 
his  or  her  ability  or 
the  requirements  of 
the  shop  at  the 
time. 


Done  by  the  body 
makers  paid  by  the 
week. 


This  is  the  only  work 
paid  by  the  piece 
in  this  shop. 


Week  work. 


Shop  No.  1232. 

Week    work  — §18 
per  week. 


Shop  No.  1230. 

Week   work — $4.50 
per  week. 


Button  sewing. 

Week  work.  Week  work. 

Body  making.2 


Work  done  by  an 
operator  (usually 
a  man)  working 
with  an  assistant 
(either  man  or 
woman) ;  opera- 
tor paid  by  the 
piece;  assistant 
paid  by  the  oper- 
ator, usually  on  a 
weekly  basis. 


Work  done  by  an 
operator  working 
singly  or  with  an 
assistant.  Of  the 
body  makers 
whose  work  was 
timed,  6  were 
men  working 
with  1  assistant 
each;  2  w  e  r  e 
women  with  1  as- 
sistant each;  4 
were  women 
working  in  part- 
nerships of  2  each, 
and  15  were  wo- 
men working 
singly.  Piece- 
work. 


Trimming. 

Done  by  "trim-  Done  by  body  mak- 
mers "  working  ers  on  a  piece  ba- 
by the  week.  sis. 

Closing  and  hemming. 


Closing  done  by  a 
male  operator  by 
the  piece;  hem- 
ming done  by 
another  man  like- 
wise by  the  piece. 


All  the  closing  and 
hemming  done 
by  1  man  piece- 
worker with  1  as- 
sistant  who  is 
paid  by  the  oper- 
ator by  the  week. 


Sleeve  making. 
Week  work.  Week  work. 

Sleeve  setting. 


Shop  No.  1284. 

Piecework — 1  man 
with  assistants. 


Piecework — 1  man 
with  assistants. 


Work  done  by  an 
operator  working 
singly  or  with  an 
assistant.  Of  the 
body  makers 
under  observa 
tion,  7  were  men 
working  with 
assistant  each, 
were  men  work 
ing  singly,  6  were 
women  working 
in  partnerships  o 
2  each,  and  10 
were  women 
working  singly 
Piecework. 


Done  by  body  mak- 
ers on  a  piece  ba- 


All  the  closing  anc 
hemming  done 
by  1  man  piece- 
worker with  4  as- 
sistants who  are 
paid  by  the  oper- 
ator by  the  week. 


Done  by  the  body 
makers;  piece- 
work. 


Week    w  o  r  k — girl, 
$16;  man,  .$11. 


Piecework —  1 
man. 


Piecework  —  2 

men  with  1  assist- 
ant each. 


Piecework  by  the 
operator  doing 
the  closing  and 
hemming. 

»In  the  fifth  shop,  designated  as  shop  No.  1110,  only  a  few  operations  outside  of  body  making  proper 
were  timed,  as  will  appear  from  the  following  pages. 

a  Work  includes  closing  shoulders,  making  centers,  tacking  (shirring)  fronts  and  backs,  setting  high 
collars. 


WAGES    A^D    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DKESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.     193 

Tucking. 

AVeek  work— 10  wo-     Strip    tucking    by  Week    w  o  r  k  —  3  Strip    tucking    by 

men,  $9  to  $15;  3        the  week;    short  men,  $18  each;  1  the  week;    short 

men,  $14  to  $18.             tucking    by    the  man  $6;  5  women  tucking    by    the 

body  makers  by  $7.50  to  $14.  body  makers  by 

the  piece.  the  piece. 

Lace  running. 

Week  w  o  r  k — girls,     Week  work— $10  to     Week  work — d  one    Week  work — §9  to 
$10  to  $13  a  week.          $16  a  week.  by   the   tuckers,        $15  a  week. 

$15  to  $18  a  week. 

In  the  three  shops  making  medium-priced  waists  the  following 
conditions  were  encountered : 

In  one  shop  an  opportunity  was  furnished  to  study  only  a  few 
processes.  In  each  of  the  other  two  factories  the  investigators 
spent  about  three  weeks.  As  a  result  of  the  study  it  was  discovered 
that  one  of  the  two  shops  was  undergoing  a  transformation,  owing 
to  a  radical  change  in  its  system  of  work,  which  resulted  in  con- 
siderable disorganization  during  the  time  the  processes  were  being 
studied,  and  therefore  yielded  data  which  can  not  be  taken  as  typical 
for  an  average  factory.  This  leaves  more  or  less  complete  data  for 
only  one  shop  of  the  class  manufacturing  medium-priced  waists. 
Some  of  the  processes  in  this  class  do  not  differ  from  those  employed 
on  $9  waists,  and  therefore  have  been  combined  with  the  figures 
obtained  from  the  other  shops.  A  large  number  of  the  processes, 
however,  are  either  different  from  those  employed  in  the  $9  shops 
or  are  carried  on  with  materials  not  used  in  $9  shops,  such  as  chiffon, 
nets,  and  laces,  and  therefore  are  not  embodied  in  this  report,  except 
in  the  part  relating  to  buttonhole  making. 

BASIS  FOR  PIECE-RATE  COMPENSATION. 

The  chief  difficulty  with  a  piece-rate  schedule  for  the  making  of 
garments  is  in  finding  a  satisfactory  basis  that  will  meet  the  varying 
conditions  under  which  the  products  of  the  garment  industry  are 
made.  Styles  of  garments  change  very  radically,  and  the  amount 
of  work  necessary  to  produce  two  garments  selling  at  the  same  price 
may  differ  100  per  cent,  and  sometimes  a  great  deal  more.  In  one 
case  there  will  be  comparatively  little  labor  and  finer  material,  and 
more  or  better  trimmings.  In  the  other  case  there  will  be  relatively 
more  labor  with  a  consequent  saving  in  the  cost  of  material  and  trim- 
mings. The  selling  price  of  the  garment  can  not  be  used,  therefore, 
as  a  basis  in  fixing  the  piece  rates  for  labor,  as  is,  for  instance,  the 
case  in  the  coal  industry,  and  in  certain  branches  of  the  iron  and 
steel  industry  producing  the  cruder  products.  The  price  of  the 
garment  does  affect  the  character  of  the  labor  in  a  broad  way,  in  so 
far  as  labor  of  a  higher  skill  is  required  in  the  higher-priced  garments 
42132°— Bull.  146—14 13 


194  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

and  the  work  has  to  be  done  more  carefully  and  therefore  more: 
slowly  than  in  the  garments  of  the  cheaper  grade.  It  is,  therefore,! 
necessary  to  time  separately  the  operating  processes  in  the  $9  shops 
and  in  the  shops  manufacturing  the  higher-grade  garments.  But  I 
there  is  no  fixed  relation  between  the  price  of  a  garment  and  the  piece ! 
rate  paid  to  the  operator  for  making  the  garment.  It  would  not  be! 
practicable,  therefore,  to  fix  separate  rates  of  compensation  for 
different  garments  according  to  their  selling  prices.  In  a  shop 
manufacturing  waists  selling  from  $16.50  to  $42  per  dozen,  the  same 
operators  are  usually  employed  on  all  the  garments  except  that  if 
only  a  small  quantity  of  garments  of  the  higher  price  is  produced  it 
will  be  natural  for  the  foreman  to  assign  them  to  the  best  workers  in 
the  shop.  The  greatest  differences  in  the  rates  of  pay  according  to 
the  price  of  the  garment  will  occur  in  connection  with  body  making, 
since  in  addition  to  the  work  of  mere  sewing  there  is  a  good  deal  of 
labor  involved  in  the  handling  of  the  waist,  which  takes  more  time 
in  the  higher-priced  garments.  Moreover,  the  higher-priced  garments 
are  made  in  smaller  quantities,  and  it  takes  an  operator  more  time 
to  turn  out  a  given  garment  working  on  a  small  quantity  of  gar- 
ments than  on  a  large  one. 

In  the  case  of  separate  processes,  however,  outside  of  body  making 
proper,  such  as  closing,  hemming,  tucking,  lace  running,  buttonhole 
making,  button  sewing,  etc.,  the  work  does  not  differ  much,  if  at  all, 
as  between  waists  of  different  prices  in  the  same  shops.  As  betweea 
different  shops,  it  may  be  stated,  as  a  rule,  that  a  smaller  stitch  is 
used  on  the  finer  garments  and  a  larger  one  on  the  cheaper  garments, 
but  even  that,  as  will  be  shown  further  on,  does  not  seem  to  have 
an  appreciable  effect  on  the  time  it  takes  to  do  the  work. 

The  amount  of  time  taken  for  the  same  processes  will  differ  a  great 
deal  with  the  material  used:  Silks,  such  as  Japanese  or  China  silk, 
cr6pe  de  Chine,  and  messaline  are  more  difficult  to  handle  than  cottons 
like  voiles  and  lawns.  In  turn,  chiffons,  nets,  and  laces  are  more 
difficult  to  handle  than  the  solid  silks  just  mentioned.  Each  of  these 
groups  of  materials  would  therefore  require  a  different  rate  of  com- 
pensation and,  as  the  prices  of  waists  would  vary  with  these  materials, 
it  may  be  said  in  that  sense  that  the  price  for  labor  differs  with  the 
price  of  waists,  although  the  relation  between  the  two  is  but  an 
indirect  one. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  clear  that  the  price  of  a  garment 
could  not  serve  as  a  basis  for  a  piece-rate  schedule.  The  outlook 
seemed  more  promising  if  attention  were  turned  to  the  discovery  of 
an  irreducible  unit  of  work  common  to  all  operating  processes  and 
to  all  garments,  irrespective  of  style  or  materials  of  which  made. 
A  study  of  the  processes  of  dress  and  waist  manufacture  led  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  stitch  would  furnish  such  a  basis.  The  operating 


WAGES    AND   EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    195 

work  on  all  garments,  from  the  cheapest  cotton  waist  to  the  most 
expensive  silk  gown  trimmed  with  fine  lace  and  embroideries,  is 
reduced  to  one  common  denominator — the  stitch  made  by  the 
needle  of  the  sewing  machine  operated  by  the  dress  or  waist  maker 
known  as  operator.  The  single  stitch  produced  by  two  successive 
movements  of  the  machine  needle  forms  the  irreducible  unit  in  the 
operating  processes  corresponding  to  the  atom  in  the  chemical 
composition  of  matter. 

A  further  study  of  the  manufacturing  processes,  however,  showed 
that  the  stitch  would  form  too  fine  a  basis  on  the  one  hand  and  not 
an  entirely  accurate  one  on  the  other.  The  time  it  takes  to  do  a 
certain  amount  of  machine  sewing  will  depend  not  only  on  the  number 
of  stitches,  but  also  on  the  number  of  stops  the  operator  will  have  to 
make.  With  the  machine  making  3,400  revolutions  per  minute,  an 
operator  on  a  Wilcox  &  Gibbs  machine  for  one  minute  can  produce 
a  seam  containing  3,400  stitches  if  allowed  to  work  without  a  stop. 
If  the  sewing  of  the  particular  garment  is  made  at  the  rate  of  16 
stitches  to  the  inch,  which  is  done  on  fine  work,  the  operator  will 
stitch  a  seam  equal  to  212£  inches  or  nearly  6  yards  long.  This 
theoretical  standard  is  more  or  less  approximated  on  work  in  which 
sewing  can  be  carried  on  in  straight  seams  extending  over  yards  of 
cloth,  although  even  in  this  case  the  work  accomplished  will  fall  short 
of  the  theoretical  estimate  on  account  of  unavoidable  causes,  such  as 
the  gradual  working  up  of  the  speed  ot  the  machine  at  the  start,  the 
slowing  down  of  the  machine  before  each  stop,  the  fixing  or  replacing 
of  the  thread,  the  feeding  of  the  cloth,  etc.  The  only  processes  in 
which  such  work  can  be  done  are  strip  tucking,  strip  hemming,  and 
lace  running,  in  which  work  is  done  on  long  runs  of  cloth  and  is  paid 
for  by  the  yard  or  100  yards.  In  most  of  the  other  work  the  length 
of  a  seam  can  not  exceed  the  length  of  a  waist  or  a  skirt,  and  is 
measured  in  inches  and  not  yards,  which  means  that  the  operator  is 
obliged,  as  a  rule,  to  stop  the  machine  at  frequent  intervals  after 
operating  it  for  a  fraction  of  a  minute.  That  being  the  case,  the 
time  lost  in  stopping  and  starting  the  machine  and  shifting  the  mate- 
rial under  the  needle  exceeds  the  time  spent  in  the  productive  work 
of  making  a  seam  of  ordinary  length.  An  illustration  will  make  this 
clear : 

Taking,  for  example,  two  seams  on  a  waist,  one  6  inches  (the 
length  of  a  shoulder  seam)  and  the  other  10  inches  long  (length  of  a 
side  seam  from  the  armhole  to  the  hem),  12  stitches  to  the  inch,  the 
theoretical  time  required  to  do  each  on  a  Union  Special  machine 
making  3,000  revolutions  per  minute  is  1.4  and  2.4  seconds,  respec- 
tively. But  the  time  it  will  take  the  operator  to  fix  the  garment  in 
position  under  the  needle,  start  the  machine,  stop  the  machine  after 
the  seam  is  made,  take  out  the  garment  so  as  to  change  its  position 


196  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

for  the  next  process,  or  to  replace  it  with  the  next  garment,  will 
amount  to  anywhere  from  10  to  25  times  that  interval,  making  the  i 
time  spent  in  stitching  the  seam  so  small  a  fraction  of  the  total  as  to  ; 
render  the  number  of  stitches  or  the  length  of  the  seam  within  certain 
limits  immaterial.     The  number  of  stitches  contained  in  a  given  seam 
would  therefore  fait  to  furnish  an  accurate  basis  for  estimating  the 
time  it  would  take  to  do  the  work,  and  hence  would  not  be  suitable 
as  a  basis  for  a  piece-rate  schedule. 

The  seam  of  a  waist,  irrespective  of  its  length,  \vitlmi  certain  limits, 
which  will  be  considered  elsewhere,  is  therefore  more  suitable  as 
unit  of  measure  than  a  stitch.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  some  manufac- 
turers have  been  in  the  habit  of  fixing  the  rate  per  garment  roughly 
on  a  seam  basis,  calling  it  "a  stitch  rate."  The  term '"stitch"  when 
used  in  connection  with  piece  rates  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry 
is  always  meant  in  the  sense  of  a  seam.  To  bring  the  terms  used  in 
this  report  in  close  consonance  wTith  the  trade  terms,  while  avoiding 
at  the  same  time  the  erroneous  use  of  the  trade  term  of  "stitch," 
ihe  expression  "row  of  stitching"  has  been  adopted  in  this  report. 
This  term  has  the  advantage  of  having  the  sound  of  "stitch"  when 
pronounced  without  conveying  any  other  meaning  than  the  word 
"seam."  At  the  same  time  it  has  the  advantage  over  the  term 
"seam"  since  it  can  be  applied  to  any  kind  of  sewing,  while  "seam" 
usually  conveys  the  idea  of  the  joining  of  two  pieces  of  cloth. 

The  conclusion  ariived  at  as  to  the  adaptability  of  the  row  of 
stitching  as  a  unit  of  measure  ot  an  operators  work  has  met  with 
the  approval  of  all  the  manufacturers  who  have  either  given  a  study 
to  the  question  or  have  tried  it  out  in  their  own  practice,  as  well  as 
with  the  approval  of  experienced  operators. 

So  far  as  actual  practice  goes,  the  row  of  stitching  has  been  used 
only  in  a  crude  way,  workers  being  paid  at  the  rate  of  6,  7,  or  8 
"stitches  for  a  cent,"  as  the  phrase  goes  in  the  dress  and  waist 
industry.  No  distinction  is  made  as  to  the  kinds  of  stitching  or  the 
part  of  the  garment  on  which  they  are  made. 

Here  again  the  study  of  the  processes  and  the  timing  of  the 
thousands  of  operations  in  various  shops  have  shown  the  great  differ- 
ence in  time  it  takes  to  do  the  different  kinds  of  stitching.  As  will 
be  shown  in  connection  with  the  discussion  of  the  different  processes, 
an  operator  may  earn  as  much  money  by  being  paid  at  the  rate  of 
10  rows  of  stitching  for  1  cent  on  some  processes  as  he  will  at  the 
rate  of  2  rows  for  1  cent  on  others.  In  a  crude  way  this  has  been 
recognized  by  manufacturers,  who  pay  the  body  makers  a  fixed 
amount  for  the  "body"  and  an  additional  amount  for  the  other 
parts  of  the  garment  at  the  rate  of  so  many  rows  for  1  cent.  The 
body  making  proper  consists  of  the  closing  (i.  e.,  joining)  of  the 
shoulders,  the  making  of  the  center  pieces  or  facings  (the  parts  of  the 


WAGES    AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    19? 

waist  holding  the  buttonholes  and  buttons),  the  shirring  of  the 
fronts  and  backs  of  the  waist  at  the  waistline,  and  the  setting  of  the 
collar.  It  consists  of  14  to  16  rows  of  stitching  per  waist,  and  is 
paid  at  the  rate  of  45  to  80  cents  per  dozen  waists,  which  is  equiva- 
lent to  about  2^  to  4  rows  of  stitching  for  a  cent.  For  the  remaining 
work  the  body  maker  is  paid  at  the  rate  of  6  to  8  rows  for  1  cent. 

In  this  way  some  measure  of  discrimination  between  the  different 
processes  is  introduced,  though  in  a  very  crude  manner,  since  some  of 
the  processes  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  7  rows  for  a  cent  are  more  difficult 
and  require  more  time  than  those  included  in  the  "body"  at  the  rate 
of  only  3  to  4  rows  for  a  cent. 

The  necessity  of  timing  each  process  separately  and  fixing  a  standard 
of  compensation  for  each,  therefore,  appeared  very  clear.  The 
method  adopted  for  this  purpose  was  as  follows:  In  each  shop  inves- 
tigated groups  of  three  to  five  operators  each  were  placed  under  the 
observation  of  an  agent  of  the  wage-scale  board.  The  time  of  starting 
and  completing  each  operation  was  carefully  noted  on  a  card.  AU 
interruptions  in  the  work  and  the  number  of  minutes  they  lasted 
were  noted  as  well  as  the  causes  of  such  interruptions,  the  causes 
being  grouped  under  three  heads:  (1)  Waiting  for  parts,  (2)  machine 
fixing,  and  (3)  personal  needs. 

The  work  under  each  process  has  been  reduced  to  the  number  of 
rows  of  stitching  per  hour,  which  may  serve  as  a  basis  for  fixing  the 
compensation  for  each  process  in  terms  of  rows  of  stitching  for  1  cent. 

The  details  are  given  below  under  each  process. 

TUCKING. 

As  explained  on  page  90,  the  work  of  tucking  consists  of  making 
folds  or  plaits  of  varying  widths,  and  stitching  them  over  on  a  machine. 
Although  the  work  is  comparatively  simple,  some  of  it  requires  great 
skill,  and  most  of  the  tucking  is  done  by  operators  called  "tuckers" 
who  specialize  in  this  work.  Occasionally  tucking  is  done  by  body 
makers,  especially  when  a  waist  contains  but  a  few  short  tucks,  when 
it  does  not  pa}^  to  interrupt  the  work  and  turn  it  over  to  a  tucker. 

Tucking  is  divided  into  two  broad  cla;  ses — strip  tucking  and  short 
tucking.  By  strip  tucking  is  meant  tucking  done  on  long  strips  of 
cloth,  sometimes  hundreds  of  yards  long,  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  so 
many  cents  per  hundred  yards,  if  done  by  the  piece.  Short  tucking 
consists  of  making  individual  tucks  of  varying  length  or  width  on  the 
waist  or  parts  of  waist  or  skirt.  In  strip  tucking,  once  the  strip  of 
cloth  has  been  started  going  under  the  needle  and  the  so-called  knife 
attachment  has  been  adjusted  to  produce  a  tuck  of  a  given  width, 
the  operator  has  but  little  to  do  besides  feeding  the  cloth  under  the 
needle.  There  is  no  occasion  for  stopping  the  machine  except  when 
tii'-'  needle  breaks,  or  the  thread  breaks  or  gives  out.  In  short  tuck- 


198  BULLETIN    OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 

ing  the  operator  must  be  constantly  on  the  lookout  and  the  machii 
is  started  and  stopped  at  intervals  of  a  few  seconds,  as  the  tucks  ai 
short,  and  there  is  nothing  but  the  operator's  watchfulness  and  ski] 
to  regulate  the  operation  of  the  machine. 

From  this  it  follows  that,  all  things  being  equal,  it  requires  great 
skill  to  do  short  tucking  than  strip  tucking.     Short  tucking  is  doi 
only  by  body  makers,  or  experienced  tuckers,  while  strip  tucking  is 
frequently  done  by  beginners  who  are  learning  to  do  tucking.     Evei 
if  there  were  no  difference  in  the  wages  paid  to  those  who  do  stri] 
tucking  and  the  operators  who  do  short  tucking,  strip  tucking  woul< 
naturally  be  cheaper.     In  short  tucking  more  time  is  consumed  ii 
stopping  and  starting  the  machine  and  adjusting  the  material  undei 
the  needle  for  each  tuck  than  in  the  actual  process  of  making 
tuck;  in  strip  tucking  this  loss  of  time  is  largely  eliminated.     For  thu 
reason,  on  all  cheap  waists  and  on  a  large  part  of  the  medium-pri< 
waists,  the  effort  is  always  made  to  arrange  the  tucking  in  such 
manner  as  to  make  it  possible  to  produce  it  in  the  form  of  stri] 
tucks,  which  are  then  cut  up  into  the  required  lengths  and  fitte< 
into  the  waists  according  to  the  design.     This  greatly  reduces  the  cosl 
of  tucking. 

It  is  not  always  possible,  however,  to  do  the  tucking  of  a  waist  ii 
this  manner.     Where  the  tucks  on  a  waist  or  part  of  a  waist,  such 
a  sleeve  or  a  cuff,  are  arranged  so  that  they  run  through  the  enth 
length  of  that  part,  strip  tucking  is  possible;  on  the  other  hand, 
where  the  tucks  are  arranged  in  clusters  in  which  the  Individ  ui 
tucks  are  of  varying  lengths  and  cover  only  a  part  of  the  length  or  th< 
width  of  a  waist,  sleeve,  or  cuff,  strip  tucking  is  not  possible,  and  the 
tucks  must  be  made  separately  on  each  waist.     In  some  shops 
attempt  is  made  in  such  cases  to  save  time  through  the  process  knowi 
as  "  double  tucking,"  which  consists  of  joining  together  two  parts  of 
waist  having  similar  tucks,  such  as  two  fronts  or  two  backs,  am 
making  the  tuck  on  the  two  in  one  process;  the  two  parts  are  thei 
cut  apart.     In  spite  of  the  loss  of  time  which  is  caused  by  joining  the 
two  pieces  together  and  cutting  them  apart,  the  time  saved  in  n< 
having  to  stop  and  start  the  machine  for  each  tuck  is  more  than  suffi- 
cient to  result  in  a  net  saving  of  time.     The  tables  following  show  tl 
average  time  required  to  do  tucking  of  various  kinds. 

STRIP  TUCKING. 

Strip  tucking  was  timed  in  6  shops.  Of  these,  4  shops,  nameb 
Nos.  1191,  1230,  1232,  and  1284,  were  shops  making  exclusively  $9-i 
dozen  waists,  while  shops  Nos.  1090  and  1.1 16.  manufactured  mediuj 
priced  waists,  selling  from  $16.50  up.  The  total  number  of  persoi 
under  observation  for  strip  tucking  in  these  6  shops  was  23. 
total  number  of  yards  tucked,  on  which  these  tables  are  based,  ws 


WAGES    AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DEESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    199 

69,527^,  representing  a  total  expenditure  of  time  equivalent  to  373 
hours  and  21  minutes  for  one  person.  It  is  therefore  believed  that 
the  figures  here  presented  are  based  upon  a  sufficiently  broad  scale 
to  yield  a  fair  average.  While  these  averages  represent  quite  a  wide 
range,  they  have  the  merit  of  representing  conditions  as  they  are. 
Moreover,  all  the  averages  are  weighted  averages ;  that  is  to  say,  the 
work  of  each  person  and  of  every  shop  has  been  given  a  weight  in 
proportion  to  their  respective  output.  An  illustration  will  make 
this  clear:  If  there  were  two  tuckers  in  a  shop,  one  turning  out  50 
yards  per  hour  and  the  other  500  yards  per  hour,  this  would  represent 
an  average  of  275  yards  an  hour;  but  if  the  shop  employs  only  five 
workers  producing  50  yards  per  hour  and  25  workers  producing  500 
yards  an  hour  each,  the  true  shop  average  is  a  weighted  average, 
which  is  obtained  in  the  manner  shown  in  the  following  figures : 

Number  of  Hourly  output  Total  output 

workers.  per  worker.  per  hour. 

5 50  250 

25 500  12, 500 


30 550  12, 750 

Weighted  average  hourly  output  per  worker — 12,750^30  =  425. 
In  other  words,  while  the  simple  average  would  be  275  yards,  the 
weighted  or  true  average  is  425  yards.  This  method  has  been  used 
throughout  these  calculations,  both  in  getting  the  average  output 
of  each  worker  from  the  several  jobs  for  which  he  was  timed,  as  well 
as  in  getting  the  shop  average  from  the  several  workers'  averages, 
and,  finally,  the  average  for  the  industry  from  the  several  shop  aver- 
ages. In  this  way  extremes,  whether  in  the  form  of  very  high  or 
very  low  output,  do  not  appreciably  affect  the  average,  since  they 
are  given  a  weight  proportional  to  the  extent  to  which  they  occur 
in  the  shops  or  in  the  industry.1 

The  output  per  hour  on  strip  tucking  varies  with — 

1 .  The  skill  of  the  individual  worker. 

2.  The  machine  on  which  it  is  done. 

3.  The  number  of  needles  on  the  machine. 

4.  The  width  of  the  tuck. 

5.  The  width  of  the  material. 

6.  The  fineness  of  the  stitch. 

.7.  The  material  on  which  the  tucking  is  done. 

8.  The  size  of  the  job;  that  is  to  say,  the  number  of  yards  the 
operator  can  work  on  without  a  stop. 

1.  That  the  skill  of  the  worker  will  affect  his  output  needs  no  expla- 
nation. Unfortunately,  there  is  no  direct  way  of  tracing  the  connec- 
tion between  the  skill  of  the  worker  and  his  output  as  shown  in  the 

i  Figures  of  exceptionally  low  output  due  to  the  fact  that  they  represented  the  work  of  apprentices  or 
beginners  were  discarded. 


200  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

tables,  except  in  so  far  as  the  wages  of  the  week  workers  give  an 
indication  of  this,  for  in  a  general  way  it  is  true  that  the  more  skillful 
workers  command  higher  wages.  However,  there  is  no  strict  pro- 
portion between  the  skill  and  the  wages  of  the  worker,  and  it  will 
frequently  be  found  that  workers  of  fairly  equal  skill  will  be  getting 
different  rates  of  wages,  depending  on  the  length  of  service  of  the 
workers  in  the  shop,  then*  ability  to  bargain  for  better  compensation, 
and  other  more  or  less  incidental  causes. 

2.  The  machine  used  is  an  important  factor  in  determining  the  out- 
put of  the  operator.     The  two  machines  in  general  use  for  tucking  are 
the  Wilcox  &  Gibbs  and  the  Singer,  the  former  being  the  faster  of  the 
two.     The  Wilcox  &  Gibbs  machine  makes  about  3,400  revolutions 
per  minute,  while  the  Singer  makes  all  the  way  from  1,600  to  2,400 
revolutions,  according  to  the  way  in  which  the  shafts  and  pulleys 
are  arranged  in  the  different  shops. 

3.  Much  of  the  tucking  is  done  in  clusters  of  from  2  to  10  tucks  each; 
and  sometimes  even  more.     In  order  to  save  time,  machines  are  made 
with  more  than  one  needle.     The  multiple-needle  machine  most  in 
use  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry  is  the  5-needle  machine,  though  8 
and  10  needle  machines  are  also  to  be  found.     If  a  cluster  of  less 
than  5  tucks  has  to  be  made,  one  or  more  needles  is  taken  out  for  the 
time  being.     By  the  use  of  a  5-needle  machine  a  cluster  of  5  tucks  can 
thus  be  made  in  one  operation,  where  five  operations  would  be  needed, 
if  an  ordinary  single-needle  machine  were  used.     However,  owing 
to  the  more  complicated  character  of  the  machine,  it  can  not  be 
operated  as  fast  as  the  single-needle  machine,  and  the  greater  the 
number  of  needles  the  slower  the  operation. 

4.  On  tucks  not  exceeding  half  an  inch  in  width,  the  difference  in 
width  does  not  affect  the  output.     On  wider  tucks,  the  greater  the 
width  the  more  difficult  for  the  operator  to  keep  the  material  from 
creasing  under  the  "foot,"  and  therefore  the  smaller  the  output. 

5.  The  wider  the  material  the  more  difficult  it  is  to  handle  it  in  the 
machine,  and  therefore  the  less  will  be  the  output  of  the  operator. 

6.  All  other  things  being  equal,  the  finer  the  stitch — that  is,  the 
greater  the  number  of  stitches  to  the  inch — the  less  will  be  the  number 
of  yards  stitched  in  a  given  period  of  time.     This  is  especially  true  of 
work  like  strip  tucking,  where  the  machine  can  be  kept  in  continuous 
operation  over  a  great  many  yards  of  cloth  without  stopping. 

7.  The  output   on  cotton  material,   like  voile  or  lawn,  will  be 
greater,  all  other  things  being  equal,  than  on  material  like  chiffon, 
which  easily  stretches  and  therefore  must  be  handled  with  great  care 
and  at  a  lower  speed. 

8.  Other  things  being  equal,  the  larger  the  j  ob  given  to  the  worker  at 
a  time  the  greater  will  be  the  output,  since  he  will  be  enabled  to  work 
longer  without  interruption.     On  strip  tucking,  whether  done  by  a 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DRESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    201 


gle-needle  or  multiple-needle  machine,  there  may  be  more  than 
one  tuck  or  more  than  one  cluster  on  a  given  strip  of  cloth.  If  the 
work  calls  for,  say,  5  tucks  on  a  single-needle  machine,  or  5  clusters 
on  a  multiple-needle  machine,  the  operator  will  have  to  make  5  runs 
on  a  strip  furnished  to  him  before  he  is  through  with  the  job.  As  the 
machine  must  be  stopped  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  each  run,  the 
question  is  not  so  much  as  to  the  number  of  yards  to  the  job  as  of 
the  number  of  yards  to  each  run.  This  is  indicated  in  the  last  column 
of  Tables  77 A  and  77B. 

The  results  given  in  Tables  77A  and  77B  were  obtained  on  the  basis 
explained  above.  The  figures  appearing  in  the  column  headed  "yards 
per  hour/'  represent  in  each  case  an  average  of  two  or  more  jobs  com- 
pleted by  the  same  person,  this  average  being  obtained  on  the  same 
basis  as  the  shop  average  and  the  average  for  the  industry — that  is 
to  say,  each  job  being  given  a  weight  corresponding  to  its  size. 

Taking  first  the  work  done  on  a  single-needle  Wilcox  &  Gibbs 
machine,  we  find  a  fairly  uniform  output  if  we  compare  the  average 
output  of  three  shops,  of  which  two  make  $9-a-dozen  waists,  while 
one,  No.  1116,  manufactures  a  medium  grade  of  goods.  This  shop- 
shows  the  lowest  output  per  hour  of  the  three,  namely,  239  yards 
per  hour  (line  11),  while  the  highest,  in  shop  No.  1230,  is  only 
258  yards  per  hour  (line  4),  and  the  average  for  the  three  shops  is 
247  yards  per  hour  (line  12).  On  the  other  hand,  the  average  for 
shop  No.  1090  is  only  176  yards  per  hour  (line  14).  This  is  due 
chiefly  to  the  fact  that  the  tucking  in  shop  No.  1090  was  done  on  a 
Singer  machine.  These  figures  were  therefore  not  included  with  the 
average  representing  the  output  of  the  shops  mentioned  above  on  a 
Wilcox  &  Gibbs  machine. 

CHIFFONS    VERSUS    COTTON. 

A  small  amount,  175J  yards  of  strip  tucking,  was  done  on  chiffon 
in  shop  No.  1090  on  a  single-needle  Singer  machine  while  the  inves- 
tigation was  in  progress,  showing  an  output  of  92  yards  per  hour. 
The  operator  was  under  observation  for  115  minutes,  or  nearly  2 
hours.  As  this  operator  earned  practically  the  same  amount  of 
money  as  the  one  who  showed  an  output  of  176  yards  per  hour  on 
the  same  machine  on  cotton  material,  the  two  figures  seem  to  offer 
a  fair  basis  for  adjusting  the  rate  on  chiffons,  which  should  be  higher 
than  the  rate  on  cotton  on  the  same  machine. 


202 


BULLETIN    OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 


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WAGES  AND   EMPLOYMENT  IN    DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.   203 


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BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR    STATISTICS, 


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Shop  No.  and 
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5-NEEDLE  MACHINE. 

99-waist  shops. 

Shop  No.  1230: 
Operator  No.  1  
Operator  No.  2  

! 

Shop  No.  1284: 
Operator  No.  12.  .. 
Shop  No.  1232: 
Operator  No.  23.  .. 

Average,  3  shops. 

8-NEEDLE  MACHINE. 

Medium-price  waist 
shops. 

Shop  No.  1090: 
Operator  No.  20  .  . 

|| 

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S 

WA'.iES    AXD    EMPLOYMENT    IX    DBESS  •  AXD-' WAIST '' INDUSTRY.     205- 
SINGER   4-NEEDLE   MACHINE. 

The  average  output  per  hour  on  a  4-iioodle  machine  in  two  $9-a- 
dozen  waist  shops  was  155  and  159  yards  per  hour,  respectively. 
The  hourly  output  of  the  individual  workers  in  these  shops  on  this 
class  of  work  varied  from  77  to  199  yards  per  hour.     This  variation 
was  due  not  only  to  the  differences  in  the  speed  of  the  different 
operators,  which  is  reflected  in  their  weekly  wages  shown  in  the  fifth 
column  of  Table  77B,  but  also  to  the  differences  in  the  size  of  their 
jobs,  and  more  particularly  the  number  of  yards  to  the  run.     Thus 
the  lowest  output  of  77  yards  per  hour  (line  10  of  Table  77B)  was  on 
a  job  having  the  smallest  number  of  yards  per  run,  namely,  15;  the 
highest  output  of  199  yards  per  hour  was  by  a  worker  who  had  from 
50  to  168  yards  of  tucking  per  run.     It  is  true  that  the  output  per 
Hour  is  not  directly  proportional  to  the  length  of  the  run  so  far  as  it 
can  be  seen  from  the  table,  but  that  is  due  to  the  presence  of  other 
factors   affecting  the   output,   mentioned  elsewhere.     The   average 
I  output  on  a  4-needle  Singer  machine  in  shop  No.  1116,  which  is 
!  outside  of  the  $9-a-dozen  group,  was  110  yards  per  hour.     Though 
lower  than  the  figures  for  the  $9-a-dozen  shops,  it  has  been  included 
Jin  the  general  average — first,  because  there  is  no  reason  why  the 
work  011  the  same  machine  should  be  any  more  difficult  in  this  shop 
[  than  in  $9-a-dozen  waist  shops,  there  being  no  essential  difference 
in  the  stitches  per  inch,  width  of  the  material,  width  of  the  tuck,  or 
!  length  of  the  run;  second,  because  the  total  quantity  timed  in  this 
I  shop  (850  yards)  is  so  small,  as  compared  with  the  total  of  the  other 
two  shops  (20,879  yards),  as  to  have  no  appreciable  effect  upon  the 
ffonoral  average. 

SINGER   5-NEEDLE  MACHINE. 

The  average  output  per  hour  on  the  5-needle  Singer  machine  was 
i  found  to  be  130  yards.     This  average  was  based  on  timing  the  tuck- 
ing of  8,336  yards  in  three  $9-a-dozen  waist  shops,  and  represents  a 
j  range  in  individual  production  of  from  73  to  258  yards  per  hour,  the 
lowest  output  being  that  of  a  girl  receiving  $8  a  week  (line  17)  and 
•the  highest  of  one  receiving  $12.50  a  week  (line  15).     It  should  be 
|5noted,  however,  that  the  same  girl  had  an  output  of  only  157  yards 
on  a  4-iieedle  machine.     The  output  of  258  yards  must  therefore  be 
regarded  as  exceptional  and  may  be  partly  explained  by  the  fact  that 
!  it  was  achieved  on  a  very  small  job  of  86  yards,  which  lasted  only  20 
minutes.     The  output  on  small  jobs  of  this  kind  can  never  be  taken 
as  reliable,  and  is  apt  to  be  either  too  large  or  too  small,  as  will  be 
seen  from  the  tables  in  this  report.     The  operator  may  be  fortunate 
in  making  a  short  run  under  very  favorable  conditions  which  could 
not  last  if  she  continued  to  work  for  a  considerable  length  of  time, 
and  the  output  will  appear  very  large;  or  the  contrary  may  be  the 
case,  and  the  output  will  turn  out  very  small. 


206  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

SINGER  8-NEEDLE   MACHINE. 

Only  one  worker  in  shop  No.  1090  was  found  to  operate  an  8-needl 
machine  in  the  course  of  the  investigation.  The  job  on  which  sh 
was  timed  consisted  of  two  runs  of  225  yards  each,  showing  an  outpu 
of  146  yards  per  hour. 

SHORT  TUCKING. 

Short  tucking  was  timed  in  the  same  shops  as  the  strip  tucking 
The  total  number  of  persons  under  observation  for  short  tucking 
these  six  shops  was  54.     Of  these  22  were  men  and  32  were  women 
These  people  tucked  282 -J-J  dozen  waists  while  under  observation 
which  took  the  equivalent  of  449  hours  and  27  minutes  for  one  per 
son.     The  same  method  was  used  in  calculating  the  averages  in  th 
case  of  short  tucking  as  in  the  case  of  strip  tucking,  and  in  fact  tlii 
method  has  been  used  throughout  this  part  of  the  report,  unles 
otherwise  stated.     The  output  of  a  worker  engaged  in  making  short 
tucks  will  depend,  apart  from  the  individual  speed  of  the  worker  and 
of  the  machine,  (1)  on  the  length  of  the  tuck,  (2)  the  width  of  the 
tuck,  (3)  the  fineness  of  the  stitch,  (4)  the  material  of  which  the  gar- 
ment is  made,  (5)  the  number  of  tucks  to  the  waist,  (6)  the  size  of  the 
bundle  which  the  worker  receives,  (7)  on  whether  the  tucks  are  of 
uniform  or  various  widths,  and  (8)  on  whether  they  are  arranged 
singly  or  in  clusters. 

1 .  All  other  things  being  equal,  the  longer  the  tuck  the  more  time 
it  will  take  to  make  it.  That  is  true,  however,  only  when  we  speak  of 
tucks  differing  considerably  in  length,  such  as  a  tuck  of  5  or  6  inches 
as  compared  with  one  of  21  to  24  inches.  It  would  not  be  true  of 
tucks  differing  by  a  few  inches.  Within  certain  limits  the  length  of 
the  tuck  is  not  material  because  the  time  lost  in  starting  and  stopping 
the  machine  and  shifting  the  material  far  exceeds  the  time  taken  to 
make  the  tuck,  and  as  the  making  of  a  tuck  4  inches  long  or  9  inches 
long  is  a  matter  of  seconds  in  either  case,  the  difference  in  time  taken 
to  do  the  different  tucks  within  those  limits  is  so  small  as  to  be  negli- 
gible for  practical  purposes.  Moreover,  as  the  same  worker  makes  all 
the  tucks  on  a  waist,  no  matter  what  their  length,  the  average  rate 
finds  its  counterpart  in  the  average  time  it  will  take  to  do  the  average 
tuck  representing  different  lengths.  For  purposes  of  comparison, 
the  data  have  been  tabulated  separately  in  two  groups  so  far  as  the 
length  of  the  tucks  is  concerned,  namely,  those  9  inches  or  less  and 
those  over  9  and  up  to  24  inches  long,  24  inches  being  the  extreme 
length  of  a  waist.  Occasionally  tucks  exceed  that  length  when  made 
across  the  waist,  in  which  case  they  may  reach  the  length  of  36  inches 
or  more. 


WAGES    AND   EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    207 

2.  The  width  of  the  tuck  will  affect  the  output  on  short  tucks  in 
the  same  manner  as  on  strip  tucking  as  explained  ahove. 

3.  The  number  of  stitches  per  inch  naturally  affects  the  output,  but 
it  is  of  less  practical  importance  on  short  tucking  than  on  strip  tucking, 
for  reasons  already  explained. 

4.  The  effect  of  the  material  on  output  has  been  explained  under 
strip  tucking. 

5.  The  number  of  tucks  per  waist  is  of  great  importance  in  determin- 
ing the  output.     The  more  tucks  a  waist  contains,  the  fewer  waists  an 
operator  must  handle  to  turn  out  a  given  number  of  tucks,  and  as  the 
handling  of  the  material  takes  up  a  considerable  part  of  the  total 
time  at  work,  this  is  an  important  factor  in  affecting  the  output. 

6.  The  size  of  the  bundle — that  is,  the  number  of  waists  contained 
in  a  single  job — is  of  great  importance  in  determining  the  output  of  an 
operator.     The  larger  the  job,  the  longer  the  operator  can  carry  on 
his  work  without  interruption.     The  mere  stopping  of  work  to  fold 
the  waists  and  tie  up  the  bundle  and  take  it  to  the  foreman  in  order 
to  get  the  next  bundle,  results  in  the  loss  of  at  least  five  minutes. 
If,  in  addition  to  that,  the  operator  must  wait  for  his  next  job  because 
the  foreman  is  too  busy  to  attend  to  him  at  once,  the  time  lost 
between  the  completion  of  one  job  and  the  commencement  of  the 
other  may  be  increased  very  materially.     If  the  bundle  given  to  the 
worker  is  large  the  time  lost  in  tying  up  the  bundle  and  getting  the 
next  bundle  will  constitute  a  much  smaller  percentage  of  the  time 
actually  spent  at  work  than  in  case  the  bundle  is  small. 

7.  If  the  tucks  are  all  of  uniform  width,  the  gauge  which  regulates 
the  width  of  the  tuck  has  to  be  set  only  once.     On  the  contrary,  if 
the  tucks  are  of  varying  widths,  the  gauge  has  to  be  reset  every  time 
that  a  tuck  of  a  new  width  has  to  be  made. 

8.  If  tucks  are  arranged  in  uniform  clusters — that  is  to  say,  clusters 
in  which  the  distance  between  the  tucks  is  the  same,  and  in  which  the 
tucks  are  of  uniform  width — it  is  much  easier  for  the  operator  to 
handle  them  than  if  the  distance  between  the  tucks  varies  and  the 
width  of  the  tucks  varies  at  the  same  time. 

The  only  way  in  which  to  obtain  conclusive  data  as  to  the  effect 
of  each  of  these  factors  on  output  would  have  been  to  test  the  same 
worker  on  jobs,  of  the  same  character,  varying  only  one  of  these 
factors  at  a  time.  As  the  tests  had  to  be  conducted  in  shops  without 
disturbing  their  routine  and  merely  timing  the  work  of  the  operators 
under  such  conditions  as  were  found  to  exist  at  the  time,  such  a 
procedure  was  impossible.  For  this  reason  it  will  be  difficult  to 
analyze  in  detail  the  causes  of  the  difference  in  output  in  the  different 
shops  given  in  the  tables,  though  in  a  general  way  the  connection 
between  the  causes  mentioned  arid  the  output  may  be  seen. 


208  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

WILCOX    &    GIBBS    MACHINE. 

Comparing  lines  1  and  2  of  Table  77C,  we  find  that  both  have  34 
tucks  to  a  waist,  but  while  the  tucks  in  line  1  are  of  uniform  length 
and  width,  3J  inches  long  and  ^  inch  wide,  the  tucks  in  line  2  vary 
in  length  from  5  to  7i  inches.  This  makes  it  more  difficult  for  the 
operator,  who  must  watch  the  length  of  each  tuck.  The  result  is  a 
smaller  output,  183  tucks  per  hour,  while  in  the  former  case  it  is  219 
tucks  per  hour,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  smaller  output  was  pro- 
duced on  a  Wilcox  &  Gibbs  machine  and  the  larger  on  the  slower 
machine. 

Line  3  shows  an  output  of  only  48  tucks  per  hour.  In  this  case 
there  is  only  1  tuck  to  the  waist  against  34  tucks  to  the  waist  in 
lines  1  and  2,  and  the  width  of  the  tuck  is  1  inch  as  against  TV  inch 
and  J  inch  in  the  jobs  given  above.  As  already  explained,  the  fewer 
tucks  to  the  waist  the  greater  the  proportion  of  time  lost  on  each 
tuck  in  handling  the  work.  Likewise  the  width  of  the  tuck,  especially 
when  it  reaches  1  inch  and  over,  makes  the  work  more  difficult  for 
the  operator  to  handle  and  reduces  the  output.  Similar  causes 
account  for  the  great  difference  in  output  in  the  other  jobs  given  in 
the  following  lines  of  Table  77C,  although  it  is  difficult  to  point  out 
in  each  case  the  particular  cause  or  causes  responsible  for  the  result, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  frequently  two  or  more  causes  combine  to 
affect  the  output.  Thus  the  output  in  line  5  is  237  tucks  per  hour, 
while  in  line  6  it  is  200  tucks.  As  the  number  of  tucks  to  the  waist 
in  line  5  is  12,  and  in  line  6  it  is  twice  as  large,  and  as  there  is  no 
essential  difference  in  other  respects,  the  output  in  line  6  should  ha\e 
been  considerably  greater  than  in  line  5;  instead  of  that,  it  is  smaller. 
The  reason  is  that  line  5  represents  the  work  of  four  of  the  best 
operators  in  the  shop,  receiving  $12,  $14,  $15,  and  $18  per  week, 
respectively,  two  of  them  being  men,  while  the  work  in  line  6  repre- 
sents the  output  of  two  girls  receiving  $10  and  $11  per  week  who  are 
slower  workers  than  the  others. 

The  same  observations  can  be  made  with  reference  to  tucks  exceed- 
ing 9  inches  in  length.  Line  10  shows  an  output  of  123  tucks  per 
hour  when  there  are  18  tucks  to  the  waist. 

Line  11  shows  an  output  of  134  tucks  per  hour  with  the  number 
of  tucks  per  waist  increased  to  20. 

Line  12  shows  an  output  of  252  tucks  per  hour  with  the  number  of 
tucks  per  waist  rising  to  52. 

The  number  of  tucks  per  waist  drops  to  42  in  line  13,  and  the  out- 
put drops  to  225  tucks  per  hour. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    209 


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210 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


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WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    211 


In  line  14  the  number  of  tucks  per  waist  drops  further  to  22  with 
the  result  that  the  output  per  hour  goes  down  to  166.  But  in  line 
15,  with  the  same  number  of  tucks  per  waist,  the  output  rises  to  257 
tucks  per  hour,  which  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  in  this  case 
the  tucks  are  all  of  uniform  width,  namely,  J  inch,  whereas  in  the 
preceding  cases  there  were  tucks  of  three  different  widths:  Pin  (-£% 
i  inch),  J  inch,  and  }  inch. 

In  line  16  the  number  of  tucks  per  waist  rises  to  66  and  all  of  them 
are  of  uniform  width,  namely,  pin-tuck  size,  and  as  should  be 
expected,  the  output  per  hour  increases  very  materially,  namely,  to 
371  tucks. 

Enough  has  been  said  in  explanation  of  the  figures  to  show  the 
effect  of  the  different  causes  on  the  output  per  hour. 

DOUBLE   TUCKS. 

As  already  explained  (p.  198),  it  is  customary  in  many  shops  to 
join  together  two  parts  of  a  waist  having  similar  tucks,  such  as  two 
fronts  or  two  back 5,  and  thus  make  the  tucks  on  the  two  waists  in 
one  process.  In  spite  of  the  loss  of  time  in  joining  the  two  pieces 
together  and  cutting  them  apart,  there  is  a  considerable  saving  of 
time,  because  it  does  not  take  much  more  time  to  do  a  tuck  of  double 
length  than  it  does  to  do  a  single  tuck.  Table  77D  shows  the  out- 
put on  double  tucks.  It  wi1!  be  seen  that  the  output  on  these  double 
tucks  does  not  differ  much  from  that  on  single  tucks.  Thus  the 
output  on  double  tucks  of  the  total  length  of  10  inches  (that  is,  2 
tucks  of  5  inches  each),  12  tucks  to  the  waist,  is  214  tucks  per  hour. 

Line  2  shows  the  output  to  be  only  111  tucks  per  hour  when  the 
length  of  the  tucks  on  the  waist  is  14  inches  and  54  inches. 

Line  3  shows  an  output  of  100  tucks  per  hour  when  the  length  of 
the  double  tuck  is  36  inches  and  there  are  only  7  tucks  to  the  waist. 

Line  4  shows  the  output  of  154  tucks  per  hour  with  the  length  of 
the  double  tuck  only  13  inches  and  the  number  of  tucks  to  the  waist 
being  9. 

In  line  5  the  output  per  hour  drops  to  62  because  the  length  of 
the  double  tuck  increases  to  42  inches,  the  number  of  tucks  to  the 
waist  drops  to  6,  and  the  total  number  of  tucks  to  the  job  drops  to 
only  144. 

Finally,  line  6  shows  an  output  of  91  tucks  per  hour  on  the  same 
length  of  tuck  with  the  number  of  tucks  per  waist  increased  to  8. 

Lines  8  to  10  show  the  time  it  takes  to  join  the  two  similar  parts  of 
a  waist  in  order  to  make  a  double  tuck.  This  work  was  timed  only 
in  shop  No.  1230,  which  is  a  typical  $9-a-dozen  waist  shop.  The  output 
of  one  operator,  receiving  $18  per  week,  was  189  rows  of  stitching  per 
hour;  that  is  to  say,  189  pairs  of  parts.  The  output  of  the  other 
operator,  also  receiving  $18  per  week,  was  206  rows  of  stitching  per 
hour,  the  average  of  the  two  being  202.  Both  operators  were  men. 


212  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUBEAU   OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

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WAGES   AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    213 
SINGLE-NEEDLE    SINGER    MACHINE. 


Table  77E  shows  the  output  on  a  Singer  single-needle  machine. 
The  same  causes  which  affect  the  output  on  a  Wilcox  &  Gibbs  ma- 
chine will  also  affect  work  done  on  a  Singer  machine.  Thus  the 
output  in  line  1  on  a  job  in  which  there  are  84  tucks  per  waist  (J 
inch  wide)  is  125  tucks  per  hour,  and  in  line  2,  representing  similar 
work  by  another  operator,  the  output  is  practically  the  same,  namely, 
122  tucks  per  hour.  In  line  3  the  production  drops  to  104  tucks 
per  hour  on  the  same  class  of  work,  but  with  only  2  dozen  waists  to 
the  job  instead  of  3  dozen  as  in  the  preceding  case.  It  should  be 
noted  that  in  each  of  the  above  cases  the  tucks  exceeding  23  inches 
in  length  were  " cross-tucks/'  i.  e.,  tucks  running  across  the  waist, 
which  had  to  be  stitched  over  the  tucks  covering  the  waist  length- 
wise. This  makes  the  work  somewhat  more  difficult,  and  therefore 
takes  more  time  than  ordinary  tucking.  As  the  cross  tucks  could 
not  be  timed  separately  from  the  other  tucks,  the  output  is  given 
for  the  entire  job.  The  average  for  the  three  jobs  was  118  tucks 
per  hour. 

The  same  operator  shows  an  output  of  110  tucks  per  hour  in  line 
4,  although  the  number  of  tucks  per  waist  is  only  18  instead  of  84 
as  in  the  preceding  case,  and  although  the  width  of  the  tuck  is  f 
inch,  but  in  this  case  the  operator  had  the  advantage  of  having  tucks 
of  only  two  different  lengths,  whereas  in  the  preceding  case  she  had 
six  different  lengths  of  tucks  to  look  out  for;  also  there  were  no  cross 
tucks  to  be  made  in  this  case. 

The  output  in  line  5  drops  to  76  tucks  per  hour  on  exactly  the  same 
kind  of  work  as  that  shown  in  line  4.  This  work  was  done  by  an 
operator  who,  on  the  average,  earned  more  money  than  the  operator 
in  line  4,  and  who,  in  line  1,  shows  a  bigger  output  than  the  other 
operator.  The  only  reason  which  may  account  for  it,  so  far  as  it 
appears  from  the  table,  is  that  the  job  in  line  5  consists  of  1  dozen 
waists  whereas  in  the  preceding  case  it  consists  of  2  dozen. 

Finally,  the  output  in  line  6  is  only  55  tucks  per  hour  on  exactly 
similar  work  as  in  line  5  except  that  the  tucks,  instead  of  being  of 
one  width  of  f  inch,  are  of  two  widths,  namely,  J  inch  and  1  inch, 
respectively,  which  makes  the  job  more  difficult  on  account  of  the 
necessity  of  adjusting  the  gauge  twice  and  of  the  greater  difficulty 
of  handling  tucks  of  greater  width. 

SHORT    TUCKING    ON    A    MULTIPLE-NEEDLE    SINGER    MACHINE. 

The  work  on  a  multiple-needle  machine  is  necessarily  slower  than 
on  a  single-needle  machine:  First,  because  it  requires  more  careful 
handling  on  the  part  of  the  operator  in  looking  after  more  needles 
and  threads  at  the  same  time;  second,  because  the  multiple-needle 


214  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF    LABOE   STATISTICS. 


cd  CO 


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No.  1090: 
erator  No.  193 

rator  No.  191. 
erator  No.  194 


Shop 
O 


O 
O 


WAGES    AND   EMPLOYMENT    IN    DEESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    215 

machine  works  more  slowly  than  a  single-needle  machine;  third, 
because  the  adjusting  of  the  material  under  the  foot  takes  longer 
than  on  a  single-needle  machine.  Table  77F  shows  in  detail  the 
output  on  such  a  machine. 

Taking  first  shop  No.  1090,  we  find  the  output  to  vary  from  78 
to  88  clusters  per  hour,  making  an  average  of  84  clusters  (line  4). 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  figures  in  lines  1  to  3,  it  does  not  make 
much  difference  as  to  whether  the  machine  contains  5  or  6  needles. 

Lines  5  to  10  show  the  output  per  hour  in  shop  No.  1116.  In  this 
case  the  output  varies  more  owing  to  the  greater  variation  in  the 
character  of  the  work,  although  it  is  all  done  by  one  operator. 

Lines  5  and  6  show  practically  the  same  output,  namely,  101  and 
103  clusters  per  hour,  under  similar  conditions  of  work,  such  as  the 
number  of  tucks  per  cluster,  and  the  length  and  width  of  the  tucks. 

Line  7  shows  an  output  of  only  83  clusters  per  hour  under  prac- 
tically similar  conditions,  except  that  the  tucks  aie  slightly  longer. 

Line  8  shows  an  output  of  192  clusters  per  hour  by  the  same  opera- 
tor when  all  the  clusters  are  of  the  same  length. 

Line  9  shows  the  output  to  be  only  110  clusters  on  the  same  kind 
of  clusters  of  uniform  length  when  the  number  of  clusters  per  waist 
is  reduced  from  8  to  4. 

As  the  output  in  lines  5  to  9  represents  the  work  of  the  same  opera- 
tor, and  the  work  is  of  a  fairly  uniform  character,  an  average  of  the 
above  may  be  of  practical  value.  Line  10  shows  the  average  output 
on  the  above  work  to  be  109  clusters  per  hour. 

Lines  11  to  13  show  the  output  on  double  clusters  in  shop  No. 
1230.  In  this  case  similar  clusters  on  similar  parts  of  different  waists 
are  made  in  one  operation.  That  is  to  say,  2  backs  or  2  fronts  are 
joined  together,  the  clusters  in  both  are  made  in  one  operation,  and 
the  two  parts  are  later  cut  apart.  The  work  of  making  a  double 
cluster  is,  however,  a  much  more  difficult  operation  than  making  a 
double  tuck.  As  the  cluster  does  not  extend  through  the  entire  length 
of  the  waist  (the  length  in  this  case  being  11  inches  for  the  double 
tuck,  or  5i  inches  for  each  cluster)  the  operator  must  pull  the  material 
through  the  foot  until  she  reaches  the  point  where  the  cluster  is  to 
start.  As  she  has  nothing  to  guide  her  but  her  eye,  she  frequently 
discovers,  after  the  cluster  is  completed,  that  it  has  not  ended  at 
the  proper  point,  with  the  result  that  it  has  to  be  ripped  and  the 
work  started  over  again.  At  best,  the  work  has  to  be  done  slowly 
in  order  to  make  sure  that  the  tuck  will  be  started  and  finished  at 
the  right  point.  The  result  is  a  very  low  output  as  compared  with 
the  preceding  figures,  namely,  43  clusters  per  hour  in  the  case  of 
one  operator,  and  28  in  the  case  of  another,  the  average  being  37 
clusters  per  hour  with  3  clusters  to  the  waist. 


216 


5             BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LAB0R   STATISTICS. 

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WAGES    AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DEESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    217 

LACE  RUNNING. 

I  The  work  of  lace  running  consists  of  joining  strips  of  lace  to  strips 
of  cloth,  or  to  other  strips  of  lace  of  various  widths.  Most  lace  run- 
ning is  done  in  long  strips  which  may  run  into  hundreds  of  yards,  hut 
there  is  also  considerable  work  done  on  short  pieces  which  go  into 
individual  waists.  The  skill  of  the  lace  runner  consists  of  handling 
the  lace  carefully  and  running  the  material  and  the  lace  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  machine  is  operated  steadily  without  a  break  and  so 
that  the  unwinding  of  the  lace  and  of  the  cloth  which  are  in  rolls  takes 
'place  almost  automatically  and  without  requiring  the  stopping  of  the 
machine  on  the  part  of  the  operator. 

Although  it  takes,  only  a  few  days  to  learn  lace  running,  the  oper- 
ator acquires  greater  skill  in  the  course  of  time,  which  accounts  for 
the  fact  that  the  wages  of  lace  runners  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry 
vary  all  the  way  from  $5  to  $16  a  week  and  more.  The  difference 
between  the  $16  and  $5  lace  runners  is  accounted  for  by  the  great  dif- 
ference in  output  of  the  two  classes  of  workers,  determined  by  the 
skill  with  which  they  can  fill  the  requirements  described  above. 

There  are  two  methods  of  joining  lace  to  cloth.  In  one  the  lace  is 
put  on  top  of  the  cloth;  in  the  other  the  cloth  is  put  on  top  of  the 
lace.  In  either  case  the  operator  holds  the  lace  in  one  hand  and  the 
cloth  in  the  other,  running  the  two  simultaneously  under  the  needle, 
taking  care  that  the  lace  is  stitched  onto  the  cloth  at  a  uniform  distance 
from  the  edge  of  the  cloth.  In  either  case  the  cloth  is  run  through 
an  attachment  which  turns  in  the  edge  of  the  cloth  so  that  it  will  not 
be  seen  under  the  lace. 

The  "cloth  on  top"  method  is  the  more  difficult  because  when  the 
cloth  is  put  on  top  of  the  lace  the  operator  can  not  see  readily  the  posi- 
tion of  the  lace,  and  must  stop  frequently  to  make  sure  that  the  lace 
is  being  stitched  to  the  cloth  at  a  uniform  distance  from  the  edge. 
When  the  lace  is  put  on  top,  the  entire  work  is  in  plain  view  of  the 
operator  who  -can  therefore  handle  it  with  greater  ease. 

The  work  of  lace  running  was  timed  in  five  shops  with  9  persons, 
involving  a  total  expenditure  of  time  equivalent  to  103  hours  and  39 
minutes  for  one  person,  and  covering  14,680  yards  of  lace.  The  out- 
put per  hour,  apart  from  the  individual  skill  of  the  worker,  will  differ 
with  the  machine,  the  character  of  the  material,  the  width  of  the 
material,  the  number  of  stitches  per  inch,  and  according  to  whether 
the  lace  or  the  cloth  is  stitched  on  top.  In  the  work  which  was  timed 
the  stitches  per  inch  differed  so  little,  running  mostly  from  9  to  11  to 
the  inch,  that  no  distinction  can  be  made  on  that  score.  The  same  is 
likewise  true  of  the  material,  which  consisted,  in  all  cases,  of  cotton 
goods  such  as  voile,  lawn,  and  cr6pe,  which  do  not  differ  materially 
from  each  other  so  far  as  their  effect  on  output  is  concerned.  All  the 


218  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUKEAU    OF    LABOK   STATISTICS. 

work  timed  was  done  on  Wilcox  &  Gibbs  machines.  There  are,  there- 
fore, only  two  factors  to  be  considered  in  determining  the  output  oi 
the  work  that  was  timed,  namely,  the  width  of  the  material  and  the 
relative  positions  of  the  cloth  and  the  lace. 

LACE  ON  TOP. 

Taking  first  the  work  with  the  lace  on  top,  we  find  the  average  out- 
put per  hour,  with  the  width  of  the  material  from  2 J  to  6  inches,  to 
have  been  157  yards  in  shop  No.  1284,  151  yards  in  shop  No.  1235, 
143  yards  in  shop  No.  1232,  and  206  yards  in  shop  No.  1116.  Shop 
No.  1116  thus  shows  the  highest  output,  although  it  makes  a  higher 
grade  of  waists  than  the  others;  at  the  same  time  it  is  the  only  shop  in 
which  the  work  was  done  on  a  piece-rate  basis,  lace  running  being 
done  by  week  workers  in  all  the  other  shops  reported  in  the  table. 
The  average  output  for  the  above  shops  on  the  above  widths  was  162 
yards  per  hour. 

On  material  running  in  width  from  16  to  26  inches  the  output  was 
naturally  less,  since  the  wider  the  material  the  more  difficult  the 
handling  of  it.  The  output  for  the  different  shops  was  100  yards 
per  hour  for  shop  No.  1284  and  118  for  shop  £k>.  1191,  the  average 
being  111  yards  per  hour. 

The  output  of  the  individual  worker  in  each  of  these  shops  is  like- 
wise given  in  Table  78  and  shows  the  variation  in  output  due  to  differ- 
ence in  individual  skill. 

CLOTH  ON  TOP. 

In  this  class  of  work  three  different  widths  of  material  were  used 
(1)  Material  ranging  in  width  from  1  \  to  4  inches,  the  average  output 
on  this  in  shop  No.  1284,  representing  the  work  of  two  operators 
working  on  856  yards,  being  146  yards  per  hour;  (2)  material  ranging 
in  width  from  9J  to  12  inches,  representing  the  work  of  one  operator 
working  on  425  yards  for  a  period  of  3J  hours,  the  output  per  hour 
being  121  yards;  (3)  with  the  width  of  the  material  running  from  16 
to  30  inches,  the  average  output  for  the  same  shop  for  the  same  two 
operators  as  above  on  a  total  of  655  yards  being  81  yards  per  hour. 

JOINING  LACE  TO  LACE. 

This  work  was  timed  in  two  shops.  In  shop  No.  1191  (a  $9-a-dozcn 
waist  shop)  a  girl  receiving  $13  a  week  and  timed  for  a  period  of  1  hour 
and  35  minutes  showed  an  output  of  126  yards  per  hour.  In  shop 
No.  1116  (manufacturing  medium-price  waists),  a  girl  working  by  the 
piece  and  timed  for  a  period  of  4  hours  and  50  minutes,  showed  an 
output  of  184  yards  per  hour,  the  average  for  the  two  shops  being  170 
yards  per  hour.  Either  the  average  or  the  output  of  the  individual 
workers  can  be  taken  as  a  basis  in  determining  the  rate  by  taking  a 
corresponding  rate  per  hour  in  connection  therewith. 


WAGES    AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    219 


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BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUKEAU    OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


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WAGES   AND  EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.   221 


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222  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

In  addition  to  the  three  kinds  of  lace  running  described,  a  number 
of  special  jobs  were  timed,  as  follows: 

JOINING  VOILE  AND  NET  STRIPS. 

Work  of  one  operator  in  one  shop,  working  for  3  hours  and  10  min- 
utes, earning  35  cents  an  hour;  output  per  hour,  141  yards. 

JOINING  RUFFLED  LACE  EDGING  TO  LACE  INSERTION. 

This  represents  the  work  of  one  operator  receiving  $10  a  week  in 
shop  No.  1232,  working  for  1  hour  and  54  minutes;  output  per  hour, 
76  yards. 

JOINING  LACE  TO  SLEEVES. 

This  work  consists  of  short  runs,  each  16  inches  long,  representing 
the  full  width  of  an  open  sleeve.  Ordinarily,  work  of  this  kind  is 
done  by  body  makers,  and  is  given  in  another  table  representing  short 
runs  of  lace  joining  in  which  110  attachment  is  used.  In  the  particular 
case  given  in  this  table  the  work  was  done  by  a  lace  runner  with  the 
aid  of  an  attachment.  The  operator,  a  girl  receiving  $12  a  week,  was 
timed  for  6  hours  and  33  minutes,  producing  an  output  of  220  sleeves 
per  hour. 

HEMMING. 

The  operation  of  hemming  consists  of  turning  in  the  raw  edge  of 
any  material  and  stitching  it  over  to  give  it  a  finished  appearance. 
As  a  rule  a  special  attachment  is  used  known  as  the  "hemmer, " 
which  automatically  turns  in  the  cloth  so  that  the  turning  in  of  the 
hem  and  the  stitching  over  are  all  done  in  one  operation.  There  are 
two  kinds  of  hemming — strip  hemming  and  waist  hemming.  Strip 
hemming  is  done  on  long  strips  of  cloth — similar  to  strip  tucking  and 
lace  running  on  a  Wilcox  &  Gibbs 'machine — and  is  paid  for  by  the  100 
yards,  while  waist  hemming  consists  of  hemming  the  bottom  or  other 
parts  of  a  waist. 

Strip  hemming  was  timed  in  three  shops,  covering  the  work  of  8 
persons  who  hemmed  a  total  of  more  than  19,000  yards  of  cotton 
goods  in  what  is  equivalent  to  58  hours  and  45  minutes  for  one 
person.  (Table  79A.)  In  addition  to  that,  260  yards  of  chiffon  hem- 
ming was  also  timed.  The  materials  hemmed  were  voile,  lawn,  net, 
and  chiffon.  The  average  output  per  hour  is  given  for  each  person 
timed,  as  well  as  for  each  material.  There  being  but  little  difference 
between  voile  and  lawn,  a  combined  average  is  given  for  the  two 
materials,  and  separate  averages  are  given  for  net  and  chiffon.  The 
output  per  hour  on  voile  and  lawn  varied  from  286  to  451  yards  per 
hour,  the  average  output  for  the  four  persons  working  on  the  two 
materials  being  358  yards  per  hour.  The  output  on  net  for  four 
workers  in  shop  No.  1230  varied  from  256  to  350  yards  per  hour,  the 


WAGES    AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    223 


224 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


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WAGES    AND   EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.     225 


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-15 


226  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

CLOSING. 

The  operation  of  closing  consists  of  joining  the  front  and  back  pai 
of  the  waist,  forming  a  seam  on  each  side  of  the  waist  running  from  tl 
armhole  to  the  hem.     On  cheap  waists  this  work  is  usually  done  01 
the  Union  Special  machine.     This  machine  works  very  fast,  ma] 
about  3,000  revolutions  per  minute.     The  machine  is  equipped  wil 
a  knife  which  automatically  cuts  off  the  raw  edge,  and  the  seam 
finished  off  (felled)  on  the  wrong  side  in  one  operation.     For  this  reasoi 
the  Union  Special  offers  the  least  expensive  way  of  doing  this  worl 
Another  machine  used  on  $9-a-dozen  waists  is  the  Metropolitan,  whic] 
likewise  cuts  off  the  raw  edge  automatically,  and  in  addition  puts 
binding  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  seam,  all  in  one  operation.     This 
makes  the  machine  more  complicated  and  more  difficult  for  the  open 
tor  to  handle,  so  that  it  can  not  be  operated  as  rapidly  as  the  Unioi 
Special. 

The  medium  and  high  price  waists  are  closed  with  a  French  seai 
usually  on  a  Singer  machine,  which  involves  three  separate  operations 
(1)  The  sewing  together  of  the  two  parts  of  the  waist  on  the  righl 
side;  (2)  cutting  off  the  raw  edge  with  a  pair  of  scissors;  (3)  tun 
over  the  waist  and  putting  in  the  second  row  of  stitching  on  th< 
wrong  side.     Some  of  the  Singer  machines  are  equipped  with  a  knii 
which  automatically  cuts  off  the  raw  edge,  but  most  of  the  factoric 
still  do  without  the  automatic  knife,  and  scissors  are  employed  ins'teac 

In  the  old-style  waists,  in  which  the  sleeves  were  closed  before  bei 
joined  to  the  armhole  of  the  waist;  the  closing  of  the  waist  consiste< 
only  of  joining  the  sides  from  armhole  to  hem,  as  already  explainec 
In  the  new-style  waists,  with  the  so-called  kimono  sleeves,  as  well 
in  the  tailor-made  shirt  waists,  the  sleeves  are  attached  to  the  shoul 
ders  of  the  waist  before  being  closed,  and  the  closer  sews  up  (closes] 
the  sleeves  and  sides  of  the  waist  in  one  operation. 

Table  80  gives  the  figures  for  closing  both  sides  and  sleeves,  closii 
sides  only,  and  sleeves  only.     The  figures  relate  to  shops  making 
exclusively  $9-a-dozen  waists.     On  these  the  Union  Special  and  Met- 
ropolitan machines  were  used. 


WAGES    AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    227 


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WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DKESS   AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.    229 
CLOSING  SIDES  AND  SLEEVES. 

The  operation  of  closing  sides  and  sleeves  was  timed  in  4  shops  and 
represents  the  work  of  11  persons,  closing  362-^  dozen  waists  with  a 
total  time  expenditure  equivalent  to  88  hours  and  24  minutes  for  one 
person. 

An  examination  of  the  average  output  of  each  shop  shows  the  fol- 
lowing results:  Shop  No.  1191,  the  only  shop  in  which  this  work  is 
done  on  a  weekly  basis,  shows  the  lowest  output,  81  rows  of  stitching 
per  hour.  The  highest  output,  125  rows  of  stitching  per  hour,  was 
recorded  in  shop  No.  1110.  This  figure  is  exceptionally  high  and  due 
to  conditions  which  do  not  prevail  in  other  shops.  Shop  No.  1 1 1 0  is  a 
smaller  establishment  than  the  other  factories  for  which  figures  are 
presented  here.  It  employs  from  60  to  70  operators  when  working 
to  capacity.  There  is  but  one  person  responsible  for  the  closing  of  all 
the  waists  in  this  shop.  This  work  is  done  by  a  man  who  employs  four 
assistants  by  the  week,  who  work  on  closing  and  hemming.  This 
obviates  the  necessity  of  counting  the  work,  the  closer  being  paid 
each  week  for  as  many  dozen  waists  as  have  been  cut  up  for  manufac- 
turing. No  time  is  lost  in  waiting  in  line  for  a  "  bundle,"  bringing  it 
to  the  machine,  untying  it,  counting  the  waists,  folding  the  waists, 
making  them  up  into  a  bundle  after  the  work  is  finished,  and  taking 
it  back  to  the  foreman;  instead  of  that,  waists  are  piled  up  in  large 
heaps  as  they  are  finished  by  other  operators,  and  are  turned  in  in 
similar  heaps  without  counting  after  the  closing  has  been  finished. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  low  figure  of  81  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in 
shop  No.  1191  can  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  closers  in  this  shop 
are  required  to  work  on  very  small  bundles,  getting  only  a  few  waists 
at  a  time,  frequently  as  few  as  three  or  four  waists,  being  obliged  to 
leave  the  machine  at  frequent  intervals  to  get  a  new  supply  and  to 
go  through  all  the  stages  preceding  and  following  the  work  of  closing 
proper,  mentioned  above.  Moreover,  most  of  the  closing  in  this  shop 
was  done  on  a  Metropolitan  machine,  which,  for  reasons  explained 
above,  is  a  slower  machine  than  the  Union  Special  used  in  the  other 
three  shops. 

The  average  for  each  of  the  other  two  shops  is  remarkably  uniform, 
being  1 03  rows  of  stitching  for  shop  No.  1284  and  1 00  for  shop  No.  1 230, 
giving  an  average  for  the  two  shops  of  101  rows  of  stitching  per  hour. 
Combining  these  two  normal  shops  with  the  high  and  low  output 
shops  mentioned  above,  a  general  average  is  obtained  of  98  rows  of 
sti telling  per  hour,  which  is  practically  the  same  as  the  average  for 
the  two  normal  shops. 

CLOSING  SIDES. 

This  operation  takes  considerably  less  time,  as  the  seam  is  only 
about  half  the  length  made  in  the  operation  in  which  the  sides  and 
sleeves  are  closed  together.  The  work  was  timed  in  two  shops  on  a 


230  BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU    OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 

total  of  nearly  105  dozen  waists,  with  a  total  expenditure  of  time 
equivalent  to  15  hours  and  19  minutes  for  one  person. 

In  shop  No.  1191  the  closing  was  done  on  a  Metropolitan  machine  by 
a  male  operator,  who  turned  out  160  rows  of  stitching  per  hour.     L 
shop  No.  1284  the  work  was  done  by  a  man  working  with  a  wonu 
assistant  on  a  Union  Special  machine,  with  an  output  of  183  rows  ol 
stitching  per  hour. 

CLOSING   SLEEVES. 

As  in  the  case  of  closing  sides,  the  closing  of  sleeves  takes  less  timi 
than  the  combined  closing  of  sides  and  sleeves.     This  work  was  time< 
in  three  shops  on  a  total  of  193  dozen  waists,  which  took  the  equiv 
lent  of  24  hours  and  28  minutes  for  one  person,  all  the  shops  using 
Union  Special  machine.     The  output  per  hour  in  the  different  sho] 
is  fairly  uniform,  being  177  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in  shop  N< 
1230,  183  in  shop  No.  1191,  and  204  in  shop  No.  1284,  the  highest 
output  being  in  the  shop  in  which  the  work  is  done  by  the  piece.     II 
is  interesting  to  note  that  the  outputs  in  shops  Nos.  1191  and  123( 
are  practically  the  same,  although  in  the  former  the  operator  receive 
$15  per  week  and  in  the  latter  only  $6.50  per  week,  both  operators 
being  men.     The  average  output  for  the  three  shops  is  190  rows  of 
stitching  per  hour. 

In  addition  to  the  work  referred  to  above,  sleeves  were  closed  on  20^ 
dozen  waists  in  shop  No.  1191,  while  the  operator  at  the  same  time 
shirred  the  top  of  the  sleeves.  The  output  per  hour  was  117  rows  of 
stitching  as  compared  with  183  rows  by  the  same  operator  when  no 
shirring  was  done. 

SLEEVE  SETTING  BY  SLEEVE  SETTERS. 

The  work  of  the  sleeve  setter  consists  of  sewing  the  sleeves  to  the 
waist.  There  are  two  ways  of  doing  this  work.  In  the  waists  which 
were  mostly  in  style  prior  to  1913,  the  sleeves  were  closed  by  the 
sleeve  maker  and  set  into  the  armhole  of  the  wTaist  by  the  sleeve 
setter.  The  setting  of  the  closed  sleeve  requires  great  skill.  As  a 
rule  the  sleeve  is  larger  than  the  armhole  and  while  it  is  being  set 
into  the  waist  it  has  to  be  gathered  into  folds  (shirred),  the  sleeve 
setter  knowing  practically  by  instinct  just  how  much  to  gather  in 
so  that  the  sleeve  will  fit  perfectly  into  the  armhole  and  will  "hang 
right"  from  the  body  of  the  waist.  The  work  is  usually  done  on  a 
Union  Special  machine,  which  has  a  knife  attachment,  trimming  off 
the  raw  edge  on  the  wrong  side  as  fast  as  the  sleeve  is  sewed  onto  the 
waist,  and  felling  the  seam.  It  is  also  done  on  a  Metropolitan  ma- 
chine, which  automatically  binds  the  seam  on  the  wrong  side  instead 
of  felling  it. 

In  the  styles  that  have  been  in  vogue  since  1913  the  sleeves  are 
usually  sewed  onto  the  body  of  the  waist  before  being  closed.  The 


WAGES    AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    231 

closer  then  closes  the  sleeves  and  the  sides  of  the  waist  in  one  opera- 
tion. The  change  in  the  style  and  the  introduction  of  the  so-called 
"yoke  sleeve"  has  deprived  the  sleeve  setters  of  the  work  of  sleeve 
setting,  the  open  yoke  sleeve  being  usually  attached  to  the  waist  by 
the  body  makers.  The  sleeve  setters  are  now  employed  mostly  on 
other  work  requiring  the  use  of  the  Union  Special  or  Metropolitan 
machines.  The  work  of  the  sleeve  setters  is  given  in  Table  81,  that 
of  the  body  makers  on  yoke  sleeves  in  Table  88,  and  on  straight 
sleeves  in  Table  99. 

The  work  of  sleeve  setting  proper  was  timed  in  three  $9-a-dozen 
waist  shops,  involving  the  work  of  2  men  and  3  women,  with  a  total 
output  of  over  252  dozen  waists  at  an  expenditure  of  time  equiva- 
lent to  77  hours  and  53  minutes  for  1  person. 

In  shop  No.  1232  the  work  was  done  by  a  week  worker  on  a  Union 
Special  machine  on  open  sleeves  and  shows  an  output  of  123  sleeves 
per  hour. 

In  shop  No.  1284  the  work  was  done  on  closed  sleeves,  likewise  on 
a  Union  Special  machine,  by  1  male  and  1  female  working  by  the 
piece,  and  the  output  was  89  sleeves  per  hour  for  1  worker  and  116 
sleeves  for  the  other,  the  average  for  the  shop  being  110  sleeves  per 
hour.  It  is  natural  that  the  output  on  closed  sleeves  should  be  less 
than  on  open  sleeves. 

In  shop  No.  1191  sleeves  were  also  closed  before  being  set,  but  the 
sleeve  setter  was  given  shirred  sleeves  instead  of  plain  sleeves,  as  in 
shop  No.  1284.  The  work  was  done  by  a  girl  receiving  $16  per  week 
and  a  man  receiving  $11  per  week,  the  girl  being  the  more  skillful  of 
the  two.  Taking  the  work  of  the  girl,  we  find  her  output  to  be  101 
sleeves  per  hour  when  working  on  a  Union  Special  machine,  and  90 
sleeves  per  hour  when  working  on  a  Metropolitan  machine. 

Work  was  also  timed  in  shop  No.  1191,  in  which  sleeves  were  set 
and  shirred  at  the  same  time.  This  naturally  slowed  down  the  work 
still  more,  the  output  of  the  girl  dropping  to  71  sleeves  per  hour  on  a 
Metropolitan  machine,  and  72  sleeves  per  hour  on  a  Union  Special. 
That  is  to  say,  while  on  the  preceding  work  there  was  a  difference 
of  :about  10  per  cent  in  output  in  favor  of  the  Union  Special  machine 
as  compared  with  the  Metropolitan;  there  was  practically  no  differ- 
ence in  the  output  of  the  two  machines  when  shirring  had  to  be  done 
simultaneously  with  the  sleeve  setting.  That  was  probably  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  difference  in  speed  between  the  two  machines  was 
offset  by  the  delay  resulting  from  the  necessity  of  shirring  the  sleeves 
while  they  were  being  set.  The  work  of  the  $ll-a-week  man  likewise 
showed  a  larger  output  when  setting  sleeves  already  shirred  as  com- 
pared with  the  output  obtained  when  the  shirring  had  to  be  done 
together  with  the  sleeve  setting,  his  output  being  58  and  44  sleeves 
per  hour,  respectively. 


232 


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WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS  AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.    233 

The  average  output,  on  the  two  kinds  of  work  for  shop  No.  1191 
was  63  and  58  sleeves  per  hour,  respectively.  Either  the  average  for 
the  entire  shop  or  the  output  of  either  worker  could  be  used  as  a  basis 
in  determining  the  rate  by  taking  a  different  rate  per  hour  as  a  basis 
in  each'  case. 

BUTTONHOLE  MAKING. 

There  are  two  types  of  buttonhole-making  machines,  one  made  by 
the  Singer  Co.  and  the  other  known  as  the  Reece  machine.  The 
Reece  machine  is  very  rapid,  but  on  account  of  the  inferior  appear- 
ance of  its  work  is  used  only  on  cheap  garments.  The  skill  of  the 
buttonhole  maker  consists  not  only  in  operating  the  machine  and  in 
being  able  to  properly  space  the  buttonholes  on  the  garment,  but  in 
his  ability  to  do  the  necessary  repairing  of  the  machine,  which  is  sub- 
ject to  frequent  breakdowns.  Where  girls  are  employed  they  are  not 
expected  to  attend  to  this  part  of  the  work,  which  falls  on  the  machin- 
ist employed  in  the  factory.  In  several  shops  the  buttonhole  maker 
acts  also  as  machinist,  attending  to  the  ordinary  repairing  of  all  the 
sewing  machines  on  the  premises. 

Buttonhole  making  was  timed  in  six  shops.  Three  of  these  shops 
used  Singer  machines  exclusively,  two  used  Reece  machines  exclu- 
sively, and  one  used  both.  Only  one  of  the  shops  making  cheap 
waists  used  a  Singer  machine. 

The  output  of  a  buttonhole  maker  will  vary  with  (1)  the  machine, 
(2)  the  number  of  buttonholes  to  the  waist,  (3)  the  size  of  the  button- 
hole, (4)  the  material,  and  (5)  last  but  not  least,  with  the  size  of  the 
"  bundle,"  that  is,  the  number  of  waists  the  operator  gets  at  a  time. 

Let  us  consider  briefly  how  each  of  these  factors  will  affect  the  out- 
fput: 

1.  As  already  stated,  the  Reece  machine  works  more  rapidly  than 
the  Singer,  being,  on  the  average,  about  twice  as  fast  as  its  rival.     On 
this  point,  the  figures  presented  in  the  tables  following  can  not  be 
regarded  as  conclusive  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  two  machines  were 
not  tested  under  exactly  similar  conditions  and  with  the  same  opera- 
tors, so  that  other  factors  apart  from  the  relative  merits  of  the  two 
Eachines  affected  their  respective  outputs. 
SINGER  MACHINE. 
The  new  Singer  machines  are  equipped  with  an  automatic  thread 
:pper  which  saves  the  time  of  cutting  off  the  thread  between  the  but- 
nholes  with  scissors.     It  is  claimed,  however,  by  some  manufac- 
turers that  the  clipper  effects  no  saving  of  time,  because  the  machine 
equipped  with  the  clipper  finishes  off  the  buttonhole  with  a  "bar"  on 
either  side  of  the  buttonhole,  which,  while  increasing  the  durability 
of  the  buttonhole,  takes  up  enough  more  time  to  do  the  work  to 


234 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 


offset  whatever  saving  of  time  the  clipper   may  cause.     Moreover, 
in  the  shops  investigated/ with  one  exception,  the  cutting  off  of  the 
thread  is  done  by  the  cleaners  so  that  it  does  not  take  the  time  of  the 
buttonhole  maker.    In  the  shop  in  which  the  cutting  off  is  attended  to 
by  the  buttonhole  maker  herself  it  is  done  while  the  machine  is  making 
the  buttonhole  on  the  next  waist,  which  adds  to  her  labor  without 
taking  more  of  her  time.     The  question  of  the  presence  or  absenc< 
of  an  automatic  clipper  on  the  machine  is  therefore  of  no  importance 
in  considering  its  output. 

NUMBER  OF  BUTTONHOLES  TO  A  WAIST. 

2.  The  larger  the  number  of  buttonholes  to  a  waist  the  greater  will  b< 
the  output  per  hour,  all  other  things  being  equal.     This  is  due  to  tl 
fact  that  the  greater  the  number  of  buttonholes  to  a  waist  the  less 
be  the  proportion  of  time  lost  by  the  operator  in  handling  the  waisl 
An  illustration  will  make  this  clear.     If  a  waist  has  only  one  button- 
hole, the  operator  must  pick  up  the  waist  from  the  bundle,  unfold  it, 
find  the  place  where  the  buttonhole  is  to  be  made,  place  it  under  the 
needle,  and  as  soon  as  the  buttonhole  is  made  he  must  remove 
waist  from  the  machine  and  put  it  aside,  and  then  go  through  the 
same  series  of  motions  to  make  the  next  buttonhole.     Added  to  this 
will  be  the  time  lost  in  bringing  and  taking  away  the  bundle,  untyii 
the  bundle  before  starting  the  work,  and  putting  the  waists  togethc 
and  tying  up  the  bundle  when  the  work  is  finished.     When  the  waisl 
has  8  buttonholes,  the  time  taken  by  all  the  motions  described  abov< 
outside  of  the  actual  making  of  the  buttonhole,  is  no  greater  per  waisl 
than  in  the  case  of  the  waist  having  but  one  buttonhole.     Therefoi 
the  time  lost  per  buttonhole  will  be  only  one-eighth  of  what  it  was  b 
the  former  case. 

The  figures  of  output,  both  on  the  Singer  and  the  Reece  machines 
have  been  arranged  in  Tables  82A  and  82B  according  to  the  numb< 
of  buttonholes  to  a  waist,  and  the  output  noted  in  each  case. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND    WAIST  INDUSTRY.   235 


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236  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


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WAGES   AND    EMPLOYMENT   IN    DRESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.     237 


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238 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  BUBE&V  OF  LABOR  STATISTICS. 


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WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DBESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    239 


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240  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUKEAU   OF   LABOK  STATISTICS. 

The  number  of  buttonholes  is  indicated  in  the  table  separately  for 
the  back,  front,  and  cuffs,  but  the  figures  of  output  have  been  arranged 
in  the  table  according  to  the  largest  number  of  buttonholes  on  any 
one  part  of  the  waist;  that  is  to  say,  if  a  waist,  as  in  line  15,  table 
82A,  has  3  buttonholes  in  the  back,  5  in  the  front,  and  4  on  the  cuffs, 
making  a  total  of  12  buttonholes,  it  is  not  classed  with  the  waists  hav- 
ing 12  buttonholes,  but  with  those  having  5.  The  reason  for  this  is 
that  the  proportion  of  time  lost  in  the  various  motions  describee 
above  to  total  time  at  work  will  be  nearer  to  the  5-buttonhole  wais 
than  to  the  12-buttonhole  waist.  While  a  little  time  is  saved  by 
having  the  additional  buttonholes  on  the  same  waist,  the  time 
takes  to  turn  over  the  waist  when  the  operator  is  through  with  th( 
front,  then  to  find  the  back  and  place  it  in  position  in  the  machine 
and  then  when  he  is  through  with  the  back,  to  find  the  cuff  of  one 
sleeve  and  place  that  in  position  in  the  machine,  then  remove  the  cuf 
and  replace  it  with  the  other  cuff,  is  almost,  and  in  some  cases  just  as 
great  as  in  putting  one  waist  aside  and  taking  up  another.  The  advan 
tage  of  having  a  large  number  of  buttonholes  accrues  only  when  the 
buttonholes  are  all  arranged  in  a  row,  as  is  the  case  when  they  are  al 
in  the  front  or  all  on  the  back  of  the  waist,  or  on  the  neckband,  etc 
In  that  case  the  skilled  operator  works  with  great  speed.  As  fast  as 
buttonhole  is  made  he  moves  the  waist  by  a  quick  jerk  a  distance  o 
about  3  or  4  inches,  according  to  the  waist,  which  he  automatically 
determines  by  the  movement  of  his  hand,  which  becomes  accus 
tomed  to  this  manipulation  when  the  operator  is  working  continually 
on  the  same  kind  of  work.  In  a  shop  where  there  is  a  great  variety 
of  styles,  and  the  number  of  buttonholes  varies  a  great  deal  fron 
style  to  style  the  operator  is  less  accustomed  to  measure  the  distanc< 
mechanically  and  his  speed  is  affected  thereby. 

SIZE  OF  BUTTONHOLES. 

3.  Other  things  being  equal,  the  larger  the  buttonhole  the  longer  i 
takes  to  make  it  and  the  less,  therefore,  is  the  number  of  buttonhole, 
made  in  a  given  time.  This  is  true,  however,  only  when  there  is  a 
considerable  difference  in  size.  For  buttonholes  of  less  than 
inch  the  difference  in  the  time  it  takes  to  make  a  buttonhole  forms  so 
small  a  proportion  of  the  total  time,  in  which  is  included  the  los 
in  handling  the  waist,  as  to  make  no  appreciable  difference  in  th< 
output.  It  is  possible  that,  if  a  series  of  tests  had  been  made  on  but 
tonholes  of  different  sizes  by  the  same  operator  under  exactly  similai 
conditions,  in  so  far  as  they  affect  the  output,  that  a  graded  scale  o 
output  for  buttonholes  of  various  sizes,  even  less  than  1  inch,  coulc 
be  constructed.  This  was  impossible,  however,  under  the  conditions 
surrounding  the  present  investigation,  when  workers  had  to  be  time< 
on  such  work  as  they  were  found  to  be  doing  in  each  shop. 


WAGES    AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DEESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTEY.    241 

MATERIAL. 

4.  The  material  of  which  a  waist  or  dress  is  made  is  the  factor  of 
least  importance  in  the  matter  of  output.     A  waist  made  of  fine 

f  net  or  lace  may  prove  more  difficult  to  handle,  owing  to  the  greater 
delicacy  of  the  material,  and  therefore  show  a  smaller  output. 

SIZE  OF  THE  BUNDLE. 

5.  The  size  of  the  bundle  has  been  found  to  be  by  far  the  most 
important  factor  in  determining  the  output  of  an  operator  in  the 
shops  under  investigation.     As  will  be  seen  from  Table  82 A,  shops  Nos. 
1116  and  1110  show  the  largest  output.     A  reference  to  the  last 
column  of  the  table  showing  the  size  of  the  bundles  will  disclose  the 
fact  almost  invariably  that  these  two  shops  furnish  work  to  their 
employees  in  large  quantities  at  a  time.     In  shop  No.  1110  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  a  bundle  so  far  as  the  buttonhole  maker  is  con- 
cerned ;  there  being  but  one  buttonhole  maker  in  the  shop,  there  is  no 
attempt  to  count  the  waists,  and  he  is  paid  each  week  according  to 
the  cutter's  slip  showing  the  number  of  waists  cut  for  the  shop. 
When  the  waists  are  ready  for  the  buttonhole  maker  they  are  either 
brought  to  him  or  taken  by  himself  in  as  large  heaps  as  he  can  carry 
in  his  arms.     They  are  all  dumped  in  a  basket  at  his  side,  and  when 
completed  are  dumped  just  as  indiscriminately  in  another  basket, 
which  is  taken  to  the  examiner's  table  without  being  counted  or  put 
up  in  bundles.     In  this  way  much  of  the  loss  of  time  caused  by  the 
handling  of  the  waists  in  other  shops  is  eliminated  here. 

In  shop  No.  1116,  where  such  a  system  is  impossible,  owing  to  the 
variety  of  styles  and  materials  and  where  waists  are  put  up  in  bundles 
on  the  average  of  about  2  J  dozen  each,  the  individual  bundles,  as  they 
kome  from  the  body  makers,  are  combined  into  larger  bundles,  so 
that  the  buttonhole  maker  gets  large  bundles  containing  as  many  as 
10  or  12  dozen  waists  or  more;  moreover,  the  buttonhole  maker  never 
has  to  go  for  his  work  and  is  not  expected  to  tie  and  untie  the  bundles; 
all  that  is  attended  to  by  a  girl  assistant  who  is  employed  in  the  shop 
by  the  week  to  serve  the  buttonhole  maker  and  button  sewer  in 
this  way.  On  the  other  hand,  shop  No.  1090,  which  shows  as  a  rule 
the  smallest  output,  although  equipped  with  as  modern  machinery 
as  shop  No.  1116,  furnishes  the  work  to  the  buttonhole  maker  in 
bundles  containing  frequently  less  than  a  dozen  waists,  and  seldom 
exceeding  2J  dozen,  and  the  buttonhole  maker  must  untie  and  tie  up 
each  bundle,  which  necessitates  the  spreading  out  of  each  waist  so 
that  it  will  lie  flat  in  the  bundle.  The  results  will  be  seen  from 
the  following  figures: 

Taking  up  first  waists  having  4  buttonholes  in  the  front  or  back, 
we  find  the  output  on  cotton  waists  in  shop  No.  1116  to  be  583 
buttonholes  per  hour  (line  7,  Table  82A),  while  in  shop  No.  1090 
42132°— Bull.  146—14 16 


242  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

the  output  is  207  buttonholes  per  hour  (line  8,  Table  82 A),  or  con- 
siderably less  than  half.     When  to  the  4  buttonholes  on  the  front 
are  added  3  buttonholes  on  the  neckband,  the  output  in  shop  No. 
1090  is  increased  to  277  buttonholes  (line  10).     On  the  other  hand, 
with  buttonholes  of  more  than  one  size  requiring  a  change  of  knife 
which  cuts  the  hole  in  the  material  to  the  required  size,  the  outpu 
in  this  shop  is  reduced  to  157  buttonholes  per  hour  (line  9).     Or 
er£pe  de  Chine  and  net,  the  output  is  further  reduced  to  118  and  14 
buttonholes  per  hour,  respectively. 

The  same  is  true  of  waists  having  5  or  6  buttonholes  on  the  front 
The  output  on  5  and  6  buttonhole  waists  being  about  the  same,  th 
two  have  been  combined  into  one  average.  The  average  output  ii 
shops  Nos.  1110  and  11 16  is  518  buttonholes  per  hour  (line  21),  whil 
in  shop  No.  1090  it  is  188  (line  27),  or  over  one- third  the  output  in 
the  other  shop.  Of  the  two  former  shops  the  work  in  one  is  given 
out  in  bulk,  as  already  explained,  and  in  the  other  the  bundles  vary 
from  7  to  14  dozen  each,  while  in  shop  No.  1090  the  bulk  of  the  work 
was  in  bundles  from  |-  dozen  to  2  dozen  each,  and  only  a  few  bundles 
were  of  a  larger  size.  In  shop  No.  1235  the  output  is  283  buttonholes 
per  hour  (line  31),  this  shop  showing  a  greater  efficiency  in  production 
than  in  shop  No.  1090.  It  should  also  be  observed  that  shops  Nos. 
1090  and  1235  employ  women  buttonhole  makers,  while  shops  Nos. 
1116  and  1110  employ  men,  whose  earning  capacity  is  much  greater 
than  that  of  the  women.  Line  35  shows  an  average  output  of  224 
buttonholes  per  hour  in  shop  No.  1090  on  waists  made  of  net  or  net 
and  chiffon.  This  shows  that  the  output  of  the  buttonholes  on  cot- 
ton waists  in  the  same  shop  is  too  low  and  may  have  been  caused  by 
trouble  with  the  machine,  the  extremely  small  size  of  the  bundles, 
or  some  other  cause,  although  it  should  be  noted  that  the  average  of 
188  buttonholes  was  based  on  a  test  lasting  a  total  of  1,591  minutes, 
or  more  than  26  hours,  while  the  test  on  the  net  and  chiffon  waists 
lasted  only  329  minutes,  or  5J  hours. 

The  same  relation  between  the  respective  outputs  of  the  above 
shops  is  seen  in  connection  with  waists  having  7,  8,  and  more  button- 
holes to  the  front.  Thus  shop  No.  1116  shows  an  output  on  this 
class  of  cotton  waists  of  588  buttonholes  per  hour  (line  54),  while 
the  average  output  for  shops  Nos.  1090  and  1235  was  278  buttonholes 
per  hour  (line  49),  or  only  about  one-half.  The  output  on  net  and 
silk  waists  in  shop  No.  1090  was  340  buttonholes  per  hour  (line  57), 
which  is  again  higher  than  the  output  on  cotton  waists  for  the  same 
shop.  On  the  other  hand,  the  average  output  on  silk  waists  in  shop 
No.  1116  was  483  buttonholes  per  hour  (line  60),  which  is  nearly 
one-fifth  lower  than  the  output  on  cotton  waists  in  the  same  shop. 

The  output  on  waists  having  9  buttonholes  or  more  to  the  front 
does  not  seem  to  vary  much  with  the  number  of  buttonholes,  and 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.    243 

the  figures  are,  therefore,  combined  without  regard  to  the  number 
of  buttonholes.  The  average  output  on  cotton  waists  having  9 
buttonholes  or  more  in  shop  No.  1116  is  iound  to  be  705  per  hour 
(line  70),  while  in  shops  Nos.  1090  and  1235  the  average  was  249  but- 
tonholes per  hour  (line  66),  or  only  a  little  over  a  third.  As  usual, 
the  chief  point  of  difference  between  the  two  seems  to  be  in  the  size  of 
the  bundles  and  the  sex  of  the  operators.  The  same  relation  holds 
good  of* waists  other  than  cotton.  The  output  on  net  waists  in  shop 
No.  1116  was  687  buttonholes  per  hour  (line  71),  while  the  average 
for  shops  Nos.  1090  and  1235  was  404  buttonholes  per  hour.  It 
is  possible,  however,  that  the  figure  687  is  too  high,  having  been 
obtained  as  the  result  of  a  test  consisting  of  only  one  bundle  of  3J 
dozen,  which  was  done  in  33  minutes.  Experience  has  shown  that 
a  test  is  not  conclusive  unless  it  is  made  on  several  bundles.  On 
the  other  hand  the  average  of  404  holes  for  the  two  shops,  Nos. 
1090  and  1235,  is  more  reliable,  although  consisting  of  figures  some 
of  which  are  not  consistent  with  each  other.  Thus  the  output  on 
silk  waists  in  shop  No.  1090  varies  from  158  to  280  buttonholes 
per  hour  (lines  72  to  74),  which  is  less  than  half  the  output  on  net 
shown  in  line  80  in  the  same  shop.  It  is  also  less  than  the  output 
on  chiffon  and  net  waists,  viz,  304  buttonholes  per  hour,  shown  in 
line  76.  Both  net  and  chiffon  on  net  are  more  difficult  to  handle 
on  the  machine  than  silk,  as  they  stretch  and  tear  more  easily.  The 
difference  may  have  been  due  to  accidental  causes,  such  as  the 
condition  of  the  operator  as  well  as  the  condition  of  the  machine, 
but  being  based  as  it  is  on  a  large  number  of  waists  with  the  work 
extending  over  102  minutes,  or  over  an  hour  and  a  half,  it  is  nearer 
to  actual  average  conditions  as  they  prevail  in  a  shop  than  the 
figure  for  shop  No.  1116  in  line  71. 

REECE  MACHINE. 

As  already  explained  on  page  68,  the  Reece  machine  is  much  faster 
than  the  Singer,  but  the  appearance  of  the  buttonholes  made  on  this 
machine  is  such  that  it  is  used  only  on  cheap  garments. 

The  output  on  cotton  waists  having  one  or  two  buttonholes  was 
found  to  differ  but  little,  the  average  output  being  238  buttonholes 
per  hour. 

On  waists  having  four  buttonholes  the  output  in  shop  No.  1235 
was  found  to  be  324  buttonholes  per  hour,  while  in  shop  No.  1230  it 
was  552.  The  larger  output  in  shop  No.  1230  is  due  to  a  number 
of  reasons:  The  smaller  size  of  the  buttonhole,  being  only  f  inch 
in  shop  No.  1230  and  1  inch  in  shop  No.  1235;  the  fact  that  in  shop 
No.  1235  the  operators  are  required  to  untie  and  tie  the  bundles; 
which  carries  with  it  the  necessity  of  spreading  out  each  waist  and 
putting  the  waists  on  top  of  each  other  in  making  up  the  bundle, 


244  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUBEAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

while  in  shop  No.  1230  the  buttonhole  maker  is  not  required  to  untie 
or  make  up  bundles,  with  the  consequent  saving  of  time. 

The  output  on  waists  containing  five  buttonholes  was  found  to 
vary  from  654  buttonholes  per  hour  in  shop  No.  1230  to  847  in  shop 
No.  1284.  As  the  work  is  done  in  both  shops  under  fairly  similar 
conditions,  the  difference  in  output  is  probably  due  chiefly  to  the 
fact  that  the  buttonhole  makers  in  shop  No.  1230  are  women,  while 
in  shop  No.  1284  they  are  men.  Either  figure  could  therefore  be 
taken  as  a  basis  for  a  piece  rate  by  making  a  proper  allowance  for 
an  hourly  rate  for  men  and  women  operators. 

On  six-buttonhole  waists  the  output  per  hour  was  501  buttonholes 
in  shop  No.  1235,  801  buttonholes  in  shop  No.  1230,  and  939  in  shop 
No.  1284.  As  usual,  shop  No.  1284  shows  the  highest  output  and 
shop  No.  1235  the  lowest.  The  reasons  for  the  low  output  in  shop 
No.  1235  have  already  been  explained.  The  high  output  of  shop 
No.  1284  is  due  both  to  the  fact  that  the  buttonhole  maker  is  not 
required  to  tie  and  untie  bundles,  and  the  further  fact  that  in  shop 
No.  1284  the  work  is  done  by  men,  while  in  the  other  two  shops  it  is 
done  by  women. 

The  same  relation  between  the  respective  outputs  of  the  three 
shops  holds  true  with  regard  to  seven-buttonhole  waists.  Again 
shop  No.  1284  leads  the  rest  with  1,103  buttonholes  per  hour  (line 
13),  and  No.  1235  lags  behind  with  720  buttonholes  (line  11). 

The  output  on  eight-buttonhole  waists  does  not  seem  to  differ  from 
that  on  seven-buttonhole  waists,  being  1,008  buttonholes  per  hour 
in  shop  No.  1284.  This  shows  that  when  the  number  of  buttonholes 
on  a  waist  gets  fairly  large,  a  difference  of  one  buttonhole  has  no 
appreciable  effect  on  the  output. 

BUTTON  SEWING. 

FLAT  PEARL  BUTTONS. 

The  button  sewing  timed  in  the  shops  was  done  on  machines 
exclusively.  Button  sewing  by  hand  is  the  work  of  finishers.  As 
explained  in  Part  I  of  this  report  (see  page  70),  most  of  the  button 
sewers  are  women,  of  whom  less  than  one-fifth  work  by  the  piece.  In 
the  $9-a-dozen  waist  shops  in  which  button  sewing  was  timed,  the 
work  was  done  by  the  week  with  the  exception  of  shop  No.  1110,  in 
which  it  was  done  by  the  piece.  Piecework  also  prevailed  in  shops 
Nos.  1235  and  1116,  the  only  medium-priced  waist  shops  reported  in 
Table  83A. 

The  work  of  the  machine  button  sewer  consists  of  picking  up  the 
waist,  inserting  in  the  machine  the  spot  marked  with  a  pencil  or 
otherwise,  opposite  the  buttonhole,  placing  a  button  in  a  special 
holder,  and  setting  the  machine  in  motion,  which  automatically  sews 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    245 

the  button  to  the  waist.  The  operator  then  removes  the  waist, 
moves  it  to  the  point  where  the  next  button  has  to  be  sewed  on, 
inserts  a  new  button,  and  repeats  the  same  operations. 

As  in  the  case  of  buttonhole  making,  the  output  on  button  sewing 
will  vary  (1)  with  the  skill  of  the  operator;  (2)  with  the  number  of 
buttons  to  the  waist;  (3)  with  the  kind  of  button;  (4)  with  the  size 
of  the  bundle  which  the  operator  gets  at  a  time;  (5)  with  the  con- 
ditions governing  the  handling  of  the  work;  that  is  to  say,  whether 
or  not  the  bundle  has  to  be  tied  and  untied  by  the  operator. 

1.  As  a  rule,  there  is  only  one  button  sewer  in  a  shop.     This  was  the 
case  in  all  the  shops  in  which  work  was  timed  with  the  exception  of 
shop  No.  1230,  in  which  two  button  sewers  were  found.     All  the  button 
sewers,  except  one  in  shop  No.  1110,  were  women.     Although  this 
shop  shows  a  slightly  higher  output  per  hour  than  the  other  two  shops 
on  the  same  kind  of  waists,  the  difference  is  probably  due  not  so 
much  to  the  difference  in  ways  as  to  the  fact  that  in  this  shop  there 
is  no  tying  and  untying  of  bundles,  the  material  being  handled  in 
large  bulk,  as  explained  under  buttonhole  making. 

2.  The  number  of  buttons  to  the  waist  is  an  important  factor  for  the 
same  reason  that  the  number  of  buttonholes  is.     (See  page  234.) 

3.  The  kind  of  button  may  affect  the  output  materially.    A  pearl 
button  having  two  bored  holes  in  it  is  somewhat  more  difficult  to  han- 
dle than  a  crochet  button,  for  the  reason  that  the  operator  need  not 
pay  any  attention  to  the  way  the  crochet  button  is  inserted  in  the 
holder  of  the  machine,  since,  no  matter  what  the  position  of  the  but- 
ton is,  the  needle  will  go  through  it,  the  button  consisting  of  uniform 
material,  with  the  exception  of  the  outward  metal  ring  around  which 
the  crochet  thread  is  wound.     Not  so  with  a  pearl  button:  Unless  the 
button  is  inserted  in  the  holder  of  the  machine  so  as  to  place  the  hole 
directly  under  the  needle,  the  needle  will  strike  the  hard  surface  of  the 
button  and  break,  causing  stoppage  of  work  and  the  necessity  of  re- 
placing the  needle.     The  operator  can  not,  therefore,  insert  a  pearl 
button  as  rapidly  as  she  does  a  crochet  button. 

4-5.  The  size  of  the  bundle  and  the  manner  of  handling  it  are  of 
great  importance  for  the  same  reasons  which  were  explained  in  con- 
nection with  buttonhole  making. 

Table  83A  shows  the  output  on  pearl  buttons  and  83B  on  crochet 
buttons.  The  work  was  timed  in  5  shops,  of  which  3  are  $9-a-dozen 
waist  shops  and  2  making  medium-priced  waists.  The  figures  have 
been  arranged  according  to  the  number  of  buttons  to  a  front  or  back 
of  a  waist,  similarly  to  the  arrangement  of  the  buttonhole  data. 
Taking  first  the  pearl  buttons,  we  find  that  for  4-button  waists  the. 
output  in  shop  No.  1230  is  553  buttons  per  hour  (line  1).  This 
average  is  based  upon  the  work  of  1  button  sewer  on  792  buttons. 


246 


BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 


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WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMEKT  I1T  DKESS  AND  WAIST   INDUSTRY.    247 


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248  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

On  the  five-button  waists  we  have  the  record  of  work  done  by  4 
operators  in  3  shops,  3  of  them  women  and  1  man,  who  were  timed  on 
11,815  buttons.  The  output  is  fairly  uniform  in  the  3  shops,  ranging 
from  726  in  shop  No.  1230  (line  2)  to  771  in  shop  No.  1110,  the  average 
for  the  3  shops  being  746  buttons  per  hour.  The  highest  output  in 
shop  No.  1110  may  be  due  to  two  causes:  (1)  That  the  operator  is  a 
man;  (2)  that  the  work  is  handled  in  bulk  instead  of  in  bundles,  as 
explained  in  connection  with  buttonhole  making. 

For  six-button  waists  we  have  the  record  of  4  shops,  2  of  them 
$9-waist  shops,  and  2  medium-priced  waist  shops.  The  output 
seems  to  vary  according  to  the  character  of  the  shops.  Thus,  in  the 
two  $9-a-dozen  waist  shops  (lines  6  and  7)  the  output  is  760  and  875 
buttons  per  hour,  respectively,  the  average  being  803  buttons  per 
hour,  while  in  the  two  medium-priced  waist  shops  (lines  9  and  10)  the 
output  is  514  and  595  buttons  per  hour,  respectively,  the  average 
being  586  buttons  per  hour. 

In  the  case  of  seven-button  waists,  we  have  the  record  of  4  shops, 
3  of  them  with  a  "fairly  uniform  output  per  hour,  while  the  fourth 
shop,  No.  1235,  has  a  low  output  of  417  buttons  per  hour  (line  12). 
This  low  output  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  waist  had  a  loose 
facing  which  had  to  be  turned  over  by  the  button  sewer  and  creased. 
The  respective  outputs  per  hour  in  the  3  other  shops,  ranging  from 
672  buttons  per  hour  in  shop  No.  1116  (medium-priced  waist  shop) 
to  868  in  shop  No.  1230  ($9-a-dozen  waist  shop),  have  been  combined 
with  the  data  for  the  8  and  9  button  waists  into  one  average  for  the 
reason  that  the  output  in  those  shops  does  not  vary  much  for  the 
three  classes  of  waists.  The  average  for  the  three,  as  will  be  seen 
from  line  19,  is  equal  to  772  buttons  per  hour  based  on  a  total  of  23,938 
buttons  in  the  3  shops. 

CROCHET  BUTTONS. 

The  work  on  crochet  buttons  was  timed  in  three  shops.  Of  these 
one,  No.  1230,  was  a  $9-a-dozen  waist  shop,  and  two,  Nos.  1235  and 
1116,  were  medium-priced  shops. 

The  three-button  waists  were  timed  in  shop  No.  1230,  showing  an 
output  of  788  buttons  per  hour.  Another  operator  in  the  same  shop 
showed  an  output  of  only  678  buttons  per  hour  on  five-button  waists. 
As  the  size  of  the  jobs  was  practically  the  same  in  each  case,  as  will 
be  seen  from  the  table,  the  only  explanation  for  the  lower  output  on 
the  waist  containing  the  larger  number  of  buttons  lies  in  the  difference 
in  skill  of  the  two  operators. 

The  output  on  six-button  waists  was  769  buttons  per  hour  in  shop 
Xo.  1230  and  589  in  shop  No.  1235.  The  higher  output  was  turned  out 
by  two  operators  in  a  $9-a-dozen  waist  shop  on  3,564  buttons.  The 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS   AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.    249 

lower  output  was  produced  by  an  operator  in  a  medium-priced  waist 
shop  on  540  buttons  which  were  sewed  on  7J  dozen  waists  furnished  to 
the  operator  in  three  bundles  of  2^  dozen  each,  whereas  the  size  of  the 
bundles  in  the  $9  shop  varied  from  2-f  to  12  dozen.  The  chief 
reason,  however,  for  the  lower  output  was  that  the  buttons  had  to  be 
sewed  on  in  two  rows  of  three  each  for  ornamental  purposes,  for  which 
no  marking  is  clone.  The  operator  had  to  see,  therefore,  that  the 
buttons  were  spaced  equally  and  each  placed  in  a  straight  line  with 
the  corresponding  buttons  in  the  other  row.  That  this  was  the  chief 
cause  of  the  smaller  output  may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  the  output 
on  seven-button  waists  by  the  same  operator  (line  5),  for  which  the 
spacing  was  marked  in  the  usual  manner,  was  861  buttons  per  hour 
on  bundles  no  larger  than  in  the  preceding  case. 

On  nine -button  waists  the  output  in  another  medium  priced  waist 
shop  (line  6)  was  1,251  buttons  per  hour.  This  figure  was  obtained, 
however,  by  timing  an  operator  on  a  small  lot  of  waists  (3|  dozen) 
containing  a  total  of  396  buttons. 

BODY  MAKING. 

The  operations  included  in  body  making  have  been  described  in 
Part  I  of  this  report  under  "Waist  operators"  (pp.  93,  94)  and  also 
on  previous  pages  of  Part  II.  It  will  therefore  be  sufficient  for  the 
present  to  state  briefly  that  body  making  includes  all  tho  opera- 
tions which  are  required  to  make  the  body  of  the  waist  and  which 
are  described  in  greater  detail  in  the  following  sections.  Tho  body 
makers  are  among  the  most  skillful  operators  in  the  trade,  since 
they  make  practically  the  entire  garment  outside  of  the  few  special 
•operations  described  in  the  preceding  sections. 

Most  of  the  headings  of  the  columns  in  the  tables  which  follow  speak 
for  themselves. '  The  column  marked  "Kind  of  seam"  is  subdivided 
into  two  columns,  marked  "First"  and  "Second,"  which  require  an 
explanation.  While  most  operations  are  done  with  one  seam,  there 
are  some  operations  which  it  takes  two  seams  to  complete.  This  is 
true  of  the  French  seam  (described  under  "Closing,"  p.  226)  and  of 
most  of  the  work  of  joining  lace  to  other  material.  As  each  seam  is 
made  under  different  conditions,  the  second  seam  usually  requiring  a 
great  deal  less  time  than  the  first,  the  work  on  each  seam  was  timed 
separately  whenever  possible  and  the  data  tabulated  accordingly. 

In  timing  work  in  which  a  seam  consisted  of  two  rows  of  stitching, 
it  was  not  always  possible  to  time  the  first  and  second  rows  of  stitch- 
ing on  the  identical  waists.  An  operator  might  be  timed  on  the  first 
row  on  an  entire  bundle  and  before  she  took  up  the  work  of  the 
second  row  of  stitching  she  might  be  started  on  a  new  bundle  and 
not  have  an  opportunity  to  return  to  the  old  bundle  until  the  inves- 


250 


BULLETIN    OF   THE  BUEEAU  OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


tigator  had  left  the  shop,  or  had  been  assigned  to  time  a  new  set  oj 
operators.  In  such  case  it  would  be  necessary  to  time  the  scconc 
row  of  stitching  upon  a  different  bundle  of  waists,  consisting  perhaps 
of  a  larger  or  a  smaller  number.  For  this  reason  the  total  number  oi 
waists,  as  well  as  the  total  number  of  rows  of  stitching  timed  on  th< 
first  seam,  as  shown  in  Tables  84  to  89,  91,  92B,  93  to  96,  98,  and  99, 
is  seldom  the  same  as  that  on  the  second  row.  But  in  figuring  ou! 
the  time  it  will  take  to  do  the  entire  operation  consisting  of  the  tw< 
rows  of  stitching,  it  was  necessary  to  take  an  equal  number  of  waisl 
for  each  row  of  stitching,  since  this  is  the  way  the  work  is  actuall; 
done,  and  because  otherwise  either  the  first  or  the  second  row  oi 
stitching  would  be  given  an  undue  weight.  The  following  illustra- 
tion will  show  the  method  of  calculation  followed: 


Kind  of  scam. 

Dozen 
waists. 

Rows  of  stitching. 

Minutes 
work  took. 

Rows  per 
hour. 

First. 

Second. 

Per  waist. 

Total. 

Plain 

a 

2 
2 

100 
50 

20 
5 

300 

? 

Plain  

To  find  the  average  output  per  hour  on  the  combined  process, 
reduce  the  number  of  rows  of  stitching  in  the  first  seam  from  100  t< 
50,  so  as  to  have  the  same  number  of  rows  in  the  first  and  secon< 
seam.     The  number  of  minutes  will  have  to  be  reduced  in  the  sam< 
proportion,  so  that  we  will  have  the  following  computation: 


„ 

Rows. 

Minutes.    " 

First  seam  

50 

10 

Second  seam  

50 

5% 

Total 

100 

15 
151 

If  it  takes  15  minutes,  or  one-quarter  of  an  hour,  to  do  100  rows  oi 
stitching  in  the  combined  operation,  the  number  of  rows  per  hou] 
will  be  four  times  as  large,  or  400. 

The  following  symbols  are  used  in  the  tables  to  indicate  the  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  seams  used: 

P  stands  for  a  plain  (ordinary)  seam. 

F  is  a  French  seam.     (For  explanation  of  French  scam,  see  p.  226.] 

S  signifies  shirring.  (For  a  description  of  shirring,  see  pp.  278, 
279.) 

PS  signifies  a  shirred  seam.  It  is  used  in  the  tables  of  this  rep< 
to  indicate  that  the  operator  had  to  join  a  shirred  part  of  a  waist 
another  part. 

P  +  S  indicates  that  the  operator  had  to  join  two  or  more  parts 
of  a  waist  while  shirring  one  of  them  at  the  same  time. 

PB  means  that  the  seam  is  made  on  a  bias. 


WAGES  AND  EMPLOYMENT  IN  DKESS  AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY.  251 
JOINING  PARTS  OF  SHOULDERS  WITH  LACE  BEADING  BETWEEN  THEM. 

This  work  was  timed  on  two  distinct  styles  of  waists,  the  old-style 
waist,  which  was  common  before  1913,  in  which  the  fronts  and  backs 
were  joined  at  the  shoulder,  the  seam  extending  from  the  neck  to 
the  armhole  over  a  length  of  5  to  7  inches,  and  the  new-style  waist 
in  which  the  shoulder  seam  joins  the  front  and  back  parts  of  the  waist, 
or  of  the  yoke,  extending  some  distance  over  the  arm,  forming  the 
so-called  "drop  shoulder,"  the  seam  being  from  11  to  15  inches  long. 
The  work  consists  of  sewing  on  a  narrow  strip  of  lace,  known  as 
"lace  beading,"  to  the  front  and  back  shoulder  pieces  and  then 
turning  back  the  edge  of  the  material,  visible  under  the  lace,  on  the 
wrong  side  and  stitching  it  over  so  that  the  raw  edge  will  not  protrude 
under  the  lace.  The  work  of  stitching  over  the  raw  edge  forms  the 
second  seam  or  "stitch,"  as  it  is  called  in  the  trade.  The  work  on 
the  first  seam  naturally  takes  a  longer  time  to  do  than  on  the  second, 
for  the  reason  that  on  the  first  seam  the  operator  must  handle  two 
pieces  of  material,  the  lace  beading  and  the  shoulder  piece,  and  must 
take  care  that  the  seam  forms  a  straight  line  at  a  uniform  distance 
from  the  edge  of  the  material.  On  the  second  seam  she  has  only  the 
raw  edge  to  stitch  over  but  no  joining  of  separate  pieces,  and  the 
work  can  therefore  be  done  much  more  quickly.  In  all  the  three  shops 
both  on  the  short  and  the  long  seams,  as  well  as  on  the  French  seam, 
it  will  be  found  that  the  output  on  the  second  seam  is  uniformly 
higher  than  on  the  first.  Thus  in  the  first  item  in  Table  84  we  find 
the  output  on  the  first  seam  to  be  194  rows  of  stitching  per  hour 
(line  1),  while  on  the  second  it  is  291  or  50  per  cent  higher  than  on 

•  the  first.  Similar  differences  between  the  output  on  the  first  and 
second  seams  will  be  found  on  comparing  line  4  with  line  5,  lines  7 
and  8,  10  and  11,  13  and  14. 

Another  interesting  comparison  which  Table  84  furnishes  is  as  to  the 
respective  productivity  of  men  and  women  operators.  Lines  1  to  3 

[  of  the  table  show  the  output  of  10  men,  lines  4  to  6  that  of  10  women 
on  the  same  kind  of  work  in  the  same  shop.  The  average  output  of 
the  10  men  on  both  seams  is  233  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  and  of 

I  the  10  women  171  rows  per  hour.  That  is  to  say,  the  men  show  an 
output  over  36  per  cent  greater  than  the  women. 

The  work  was  timed  in  two  shops:  No.  1232,  the  most  efficient  of 
the  shops  investigated,  and  No.  1284,  which  has  been  found  to  fall 
below  the  average  shop  on  several  operations.  The  short  seam  was 
timed  in  shop  No.  1284,  while  the  long  seams  were  found  in  shop 
No.  1232.  As  will  be  seen  from  Table  84,  the  average  output  per 
hour  was  210  rows  of  stitching  in  shop  No.  1284  (line  9),  and  207  in 
shop  No.  1232  (line  12),  the  somewhat  higher  figure  in  the  less  effi- 
cient shop  being  due  in  this  case  to  the  much  shorter  seams  which 
were  made  in  that  shop.  In  determining  the  stitch  rate  for  these 


252 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


operations  on  the  basis  of  the  figures  given  here,  it  would  be  necessary 
to  take  into  account  the  differences  in  the  earning  capacities  of  the 
operators  in  the  respective  shops. 

The  French  seam  work  was  found  in  shop  No.  1230,  although  this 
shop  manufactures  only  cheap  waists.  The  work  was  done  by  four 
men  and  three  women,  and  showed  an  average  output  of  162  rows 
of  stitching  per  hour  on  the  first  seam,  243  on  the  second,  and  194 
on  the  complete  operation. 

TABLE  84.— JOINING  PARTS  OF  SHOULDERS  WITH  LACE  BEADING  BETWEEN  THEM. 
[For  explanation  of  method  of  computing  averages  in  this  table  see  p.  250.] 


Line 
No. 

Shop  number. 

Number 
and  sex  of 
operators. 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Length 
of  seam 
(inches). 

Waists 
(dozen). 

Stitching. 

Male. 

Fe- 
male. 

First. 

Sec- 
ond. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
worked 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

1 
2 

3 

4 
5 

6 

7 
8 

9 

10 
11 

12 

13 
14 

15 

Shop  No  128  1 

10 

p. 

5  to  7 
5  to  7 

9U 

92J 

2 
2 

2,190 
2,220 

676 

458 

194 

291 

Do 

10 

P. 

•Vverage 

233 

Shop  No.  1284 

433 

258 

10 
10 

E. 

5  to  7 
5  to  7 

a 

2 
2 

980 
996 

136 
232 

Do 

P. 

Average 

171 

Average  shop  No.  1281: 
First  seam 

5  to  7 

5  to  7 

18* 

10 
10 

10 
10 

P. 

"P." 

2 

2 

3,170 
3,216 

1,109 
716 

172 
269 

Second  seani  

Average  

I 

210 

183 
238 

Shop  No  1232 

T 

5 

T 

6 

!_ 

2~ 
2 

864~ 

{*£.(* 

ODD 

p. 

11  to  15 
11  to  15 

110 
110 

2.  640 
2,640 

Do  

P. 

\^Terage 

207 

162 
243 

Shop  No.  1230 

564 
324 

209" 

80 

4  |        3 
2          3 

F. 

"F." 

6*  to  8 
7  to  8 

23i 
13$ 

2 

2 

Do  

Average  .  .  . 

i 

194 

JOINING  YOKES  TO  FRONTS  OR  BACKS  WITH  INSERTIONS. 

Seam  12  to  15  inches  long. 

This  work  was  observed  in  three  shops  making  waists  to  sell  for  $9 
per  dozen,  involving  the  work  of  19  men  and  21  women,  who  spent 
the  equivalent  of  54  hours  and  38  minutes  for  one  person  in  turning 
out  from  160  to  165  dozen  waists. 

The  character  of  this  work  involves  the  same  operations  as  in 
sewing  on  lace  beading  to  shoulders,  described  in  the  preceding 
section,  and  in  joining  lace  to  material,  described  under  lace  run- 
ning. That  is  to  say,  a  distinction  must  be  made  in  -  the  .first 
place  between  the  process  in  which  the  lace  is  sewed  on  top  of  the 
cloth  and  that  in  which  the  cloth  appears  on  top  of  the  lace;  in  the 
second  place,  the  first  row  of  stitching,  which  involves  the  sewing  on 
of  the  lace,  must  be  distinguished  from  the  second  row  by  which  the 
protruding  edge  of  the  cloth  is  stitched  back.  As  will  be  seen  from 
Table  85,  two  shops  (Nos.  1284  and  1230)  follow  the  method  of  sewing 
the  cloth  on  top,  while  in  one  shop  (No.  1232)  the  lace  is  stitched  on 


WAGES    AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DEESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    253 


top.  As  a  result,  the  first  two  shops  show  a  smaller  output  per  hour 
than  the  last-mentioned  shop.  Where  the  cloth  appears  on  top  the 
rows  of  stitching  per  hour  vary  from  96  to  108  on  the  first  seam,  and 
from  139  to  144  on  the  second,  the  average  for  the  two  seams  in  both 
shops  being  116  rows  of  stitching  per  hour.  For  the  lace  on  top 
process  the  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  were  168  on  the  first  seam  and 
207  on  the  second,  the  average  for  the  two  seams  being  186  per  hour. 

The  last  item  in  the  table  represents  the  same  work  as  described 
above,  except  that  cording  is  inserted  instead  of  lace  beading.  This 
work  is  much  more  difficult  and  takes  more  time ;  the  cording  being1 
quite  thick,  its  movement  under  the  "foot"  (the  name  of  the  attach- 
ment which  presses  down  the  material,  thereby  helping  the  gears 
under  the  material  to  push  it  along  as  fast  as  it  is  stitched),  is  slow; 
care  must  also  be  taken  that  the  seam  is  put  in  neatly  next  to  the 
cord  so  that  the  needle  neither  catches  the  cord  nor  nlakes  the  seam 
too  far  from  the  cord,  which  would  leave  it  loose  in  the  cloth.  All 
these  conditions  combine  to  greatly  reduce  the  output. 

Only  7J  dozen  waists  with  cording  were  made  while  the  investiga- 
tion was  in  progress,  and  this  happened  in  shop  No.  1232  which  has 
the  highest  output  of  any  shop  on  most  of  the  work  on  which  com- 
parison can  be  made  between  the  different  shops.  These  7J  dozen 
were  made  by  three  different  operators,  all  men,  each  making  2J 
dozen.  The  average  output  was  87  rows  of  stitching  per  hour.  For 
additional  figures  on  cording,  see  page  281  relating  to  sleeve  setting. 

TABLE  85.— JOINING  YOKES  TO  FRONTS  OR  BACKS  WITH  INSERTIONS. 
Seam  12  to  15  inches  long. 

[For  explanation  of  method  of  computing  averages  in  this  table,  see  p.  230.] 


Line 

No. 

Shop  number. 

Number 
and  sex  of 
operators. 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Waists 
(dozen). 

Stitchin.e. 

Male. 

Fe- 
male. 

First. 

Sec- 
ond. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
worked 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

1 

2 

3 

4 
5 

G 

7 
8 

9 

10 
11 

12 
13 

Cloth  on  top: 
Shop  No.  1284 

2 

4 

9 
12 

P. 

"~"p~." 

53  * 

64^ 

2 

2 

1,280 
1.550 

798 
668 

96 
139 

Do  

Average 

114 

Shop  No.  1230  

pT 

2 

2 

5 

8 

""P." 

22 

30§ 

2 
2 

528 
736 

294 
307 

108* 
144 

Do  

Average 

123 

Average,   shops  Nos. 
1230  and  1284: 
First  seam  

4 
6 

14 

20 

p. 

"'P.' 

75  J 
95J 

2 
2 

1,808 
2,286 

1,092 
975 

99 
141 

Second  seam  

116 

Lace  on  top: 
Shop  No.  1232  
Do  

Average.  

13 
13 

p. 

2 
2 

.723 

488 

1 
1 

""p"." 

| 

2,028 
1,686 

168 
207 

186 
87 

With  cording: 
Shop  No.  1232  |  .     3 

p. 



7J 

2 

180 

124 

254 


BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


JOINING  YOKE  BEADING  TO  BACKS. 

Seam  27  to  30  inches  long. 

This  work  was  timed  in  three  $9-a-dozen  waist  shops,  involving 
the  work  of  10  men  and  9  women,  with  a  total  output  of  49f|  to  57J 
dozen  waists  at  an  expenditure  of  time  equivalent  to  15  hours  and  1 
minutes  for  one  person.     The  work  is  in  every  way  similar  to  thai 
described  in  the  preceding  section  except  that  it  is  done  on  waisl 
having  closed  backs  which  are  double  the  length  of  the  open  bad 
given  in  the  preceding  section.     As  will  be  seen  by  comparing  th< 
figures  in  Tables  85  and  86,  the  output  for  each  shop  is  materially  lowei 
on  the  full  backs  as  compared  with  the  half  backs.     Thus,  taking 
first  the  shops  where  the  cloth  is  stitched  on  top  of  the  lace,  we  fin< 
that  in  shop  No.  1284  the  average  output  is  79  rows  of  stitching  pei 
hour  on  the  full  backs  (see  table  below),  as  against  114  on  the  hali 
backs  (see  preceding  table),  a  difference  of  31  per  cent.     For  shop  No. 
1230,  the  respective  outputs  are  75  and  123  rows  per  hour,  or 
difference  of  39  per  cent.     The  average  output  for  the  two  shops  is  7: 
rows  of  stitching  per  hour  on  the  first  seam,  87  rows  on  the  second, 
and  78  rows  per  hour  for  the  combined  process  as  compared  with 
rows  of  stitching  for  the  half  backs,  or  a  difference  of  33  per  cent. 
That  is  to  say,  in  the  two  shops  mentioned  the  output  on  full  bacj 
was  on  the  average  about  one-third  less  per  hour  than  the  outpu 
on  half  backs. 

For  shop  No.  1232,  in  which  the  lace  is  stitched  on  top  of  the  cloth, 
the  output  on  full  backs  was  98  per  hour  as  compared  with  186 
half  backs,  or  a  difference  of  47  per  cent. 

TABLE  86.— JOINING  YOKE  BEADING  TO  BACKS. 
Plain  seam  27  to  30  inches  long. 

[For  explanation  of  method  of  computing  averages  in  this  table,  see  page  250.] 


Line 

No. 

1 
•     2 

3 

4 

5 
6 

7 
8 

Shop  number. 

Number 
and  sex  of 
operators. 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Lencth 
of  seam 
(inches). 

Waists 
(dozen). 

Stitching. 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

Male. 

Fe- 
male. 

First. 

Sec- 
ond. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
worked 
(min- 
utes). 

Cloth  on  top: 
Shop  No.  1284... 

6 
g 

P. 

""p~." 

27 
27 

20 
25 

1 
1 

240 
300 

203 
201 

Do 

Average.. 

3 

Shop  No.  1230  

5 

5 

60~ 
60 

2 
2 

P. 

""p~.~ 

27  to  30 
27  to  30 

1 
1 

50 
46 

Do  

2 

Average 

Total,  shops  Nos. 
1230  and  1284: 
First  seam  
Second  seam 

2 

8 
g 

P. 

1 
1 

253 
247 

.  .  „  .  . 

27  to  30 
27  to  30 

25 
30 

300 
360 

Average  

146 

Lace  on  top: 
Shop  No.  1232...  . 

g 

^^^^^ 

p 

== 

27  to  31 
29  to  31 

32* 

19H 

1 

1 

390 
239 

'_'..-- 

318 
99 

Do.... 

6 

1 

P. 

Average  

£ 



WAGES   AND    EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS    AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.    255 

JOINING  YOKES  WITH  LACE  BEADING  TO   OPEN  FRONTS   OR  BACKS, 
WITH  A  SHIRRED  SEAM. 


Seam  11  to  15  inches  long. 


This  work  was  timed  in  only  one  $9-a-dozen  waist  shop,  involving 
the  work  of  11  men  and  8  women,  with  a  total  output  of  46  to  53 
dozen  waists,  at  an  expenditure  of  time  equivalent  to  17  hours  and  5 
minutes  for  one  person.  The  work  differs  from  that  described  in  the 
preceding  section  in  that  a  shirred  seam  takes  the  place  of  a  plain 
seam.  This  process  is  naturally  more  difficult  for  the  operator. 
Comparison  is  possible  only  for  one  shop,  No.  1232,  since  only  in 
that  shop  work  was  found  of  a  similar  character  with  plain  and 
shirred  seams,  respectively.  The  average  output  for  this  shop  on 
this  kind  of  work  was  143  rows  of  stitching  per  hour,  as  compared 
with  186  rows  of  the  plain  seam  (see  lines  10  and  11  in  Table  85).  In 
other  words,  the  additional  work  of  shirring  or  handling  a  shirred 
seam  results  in  a  loss  of  about  23  per  cent  in  the  output  of  the  operator, 
and  work  of  this  kind  seems  to  call  for  a  proportionately  greater 
compensation  than  in  the  case  of  a  plain  seam. 

An  examination  of  Table  87  shows  that  the  operators  do  their  work 
in  different  ways.  In  the  column  headed  "Kind  of  seam"  it  will  be 
found  that  the  first  seam  has  been  made  in  two  different  ways,  indi- 
cated by  the  symbols  "PS"  and  "P  +  S,"  respectively.  The  former 
indicates  that  the  shirring  was  done  before  the  joining  in  a  separate 
operation;  the  latter,  that  the  joining  and  the  shirring  were  done 
together  in  the  same  operation.  A  comparison  of  lines  1  and  4  of 
Table  87  shows  an  output  of  116  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  by  the 
first  method  and  111  by  the  second,  or  a  difference  of  4  per  cent  in 
favor  of  the  former  method.  But  this  does  not  take  account  of  the 
time  taken  to  do  the  shirring  as  a  separate  operation,  which  does  not 
appear  in  the  table.  The  fact  should  be  noted  that  when  the  separate 
operation  of  shirring  is  saved,  the  handling  of  the  work  becomes 
much  more  difficult  for  the  operator,  so  that  what  is  saved  by  elimi- 
nating one  operation  is  largely  or  entirely  offset  through  the  loss  of 
time  in  handling  the  combined  operation  in  one  process.1  Moreover, 
as  it  is  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  operator  to  do  the  work  either  by 
the  one  or  by  the  other  method,  there  is  no  occasion  for  different  rates 

for  the  two  methods. 

.  +.       

1  It  will  be  noted  that  there  is  no  difference  in  the  time  it  takes  to  do  the  second  seam  under  either  process, 
since  the  second  seam  is  identical  in  both  cases,  consisting  of  stitching  over  a  shirred  seam.  For  this  reason 
no  attempt  was  made  to  separate  the  work  on  the  second  seam  under  the  two  processes,  and  lines  2  and  5 
represent  the  same  work. 


256 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  87.— JOINING  YOKES  Y»TITH  LACE  BEADING  TO  OPEN  FRONTS  OR  BACKS  WITH 

SHIRRED   SEAM. 

Seam  11  to  15  inches  long. 

[For  explanation  of  method  of  computing  averages  in  this  table  see  page  250.] 


Line 
No. 

Shop  number. 

Number 
and  sex  of 
operators. 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Length 
of  seam 
(inches). 

Waists 
(dozen). 

Stitching. 

Male. 

Fe- 
male. 

First. 

Sec- 
ond. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
worked 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

1 

2 

3 

4 
5 

6 

7 

Joining  yoke  to  a  shirred 
front  or  back: 
Shop  No  1232... 

7 
11 

8 
8 

PS. 

11  to  15 
11  to  15 

42A 
46^ 

2 
2 

1,018 
1,106 

528 
352 

% 

Do 

PS. 

\verage 

143 

111 
189 

Joining  yoke  to  front  or 
back  and  shirring  at  the 
same  time: 
Shop  No.  1232  

1  '  — 

P+S. 

1    "    — 

11  to  15 
11  to  15 

114 

46^ 

2 
2 

268 
1,106 

6 

145 
352 

Do  

11 

8 

P+S. 

Average  .  . 

jj 

Average    for    both 
operations 

' 

| 

1  

JOINING   YOKE  SLEEVES  TO  FRONTS  OR  BACKS   WITH  BEADING 

BETWEEN. 

This  work  was  timed  in  three  $9-a-dozen  waist  shops,  involvii 
the  work  of  17  men  and  40  women,  with  a  total  output  of  508  dozei 
waists  at  an  expenditure  of  time  equivalent  to  163  hours  for  on< 
person.  As  in  the  case  of  the  operations  described  above,  th< 
average  output  per  hour  in  the  shops  using  the  "  cloth  on  top"metho< 
of  sewing  on  the  lace  beading  is  below  that  in  the  shop  using  th( 
"lace  on  top"  method,  the  two  being  143  and  184  rows  of  stitching, 
respectively. 

Lines  9  to  12  of  Table  88  represent  the  same  work  as  describe< 
above,  except  that  the  operator  has  to  shirr  the  front  or  back  in  th< 
same  operation.  This  makes  the  work  more  difficult  and  con 
quently  slower.  As  will  be  seen  from  lines  9  and  10  of  Table  88, 
the  output  for  shop  No.  1230  in  this  case  is  104  rows  of  stitchii 
per  hour  as  compared  with  144  rows  of  stitching  without  the  shir- 
ring, or  a  reduction  of  output  equal  to  about  28  per  cent.  The 
average  for  shop  No.  1232  (lines  11  and  12  of  the  table)  is  138  rcr 
of  stitching  per  hour  as  compared  with  184  without  the  shirring,  01 
a  reduction  of  output  equal  to  25  per  cent. 


WAGES    AND   EMPLOYMENT    IN    DKESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    257 


TABLE  SS.-JOIN1NG  YOKE  SLEEVES  TO  FRONTS  OR  BACKS  YTITH  LACE  BEADING 

BETWEEN. 

Plain  seam  11  to  16  inches  long. 

[For  explanation  of  method  of  computing  averages  in  this  table  see  page  250.] 


Line 
No. 

Shop  number. 

Number 
and  sex  of 
operators. 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Stitches 
per  inch. 

Waists 
(dozen). 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Stitching. 

Male. 

Fe- 
male. 

First, 

ond. 

Total 
rows. 

2,724 
2,340 

Time 
worked 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

1 
2 

3 

4 

5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 

11 
12 

Cloth  on  top: 
Shop  No  1284  .  . 

6         13 

6|        10 

P. 

113J 

97i 

2 
2 

1,305 

861 

125 
163 

Do 

p. 

Average 



142 

Shop  No  1230... 

P. 

8 
8 

23 
.23 

8  to  10 
8  to  10 

345i 
337^ 

2 
2 

8,284 
8,098 

3,953 

2,883 

126 

169 

Do     .. 

P. 

A  verage 

144 

*126 
167 

Average,  shops  Nos. 
1284  and  1230: 
First  seam 

14 
14 

36 
33 

P. 

™ 

~~ 

4582 
434ii 

11,008 
10,438 

5,258 
3,744 

2 
2 

Second  seam  
\verage 

p. 

143 

Lace  on  top: 
Shop  No.  1232  
Do 

50 
51i 

2 
2 

1,200 
1,230 

3 
3 

4 
4 

P. 

471 
319 

153 

231 

p 

Average  . 

184 

Shirring  fronts  or  backs  at 
the  same  time. 
Cloth  on  top: 
Shop  No  1230.. 

890 

786 

4 
4 

12 

9 

P+S. 

lit 

2 
2 

636 

347 

84 
i:3() 

Do 

P+S 

Average.  . 

104 

103 

208 

Lace  on  top: 
Shop  No  1232 

' 

1% 
7J 

2 
.  .2 

180 
180 

105 
52 

• 

P+S 

Do 

2 

p'+s 

Average.  . 

138 

JOINING   PARTS   OF  BACK   WITH  FRENCH   SEAM,   FORMING  TUCK  AT 

THE  SAME  TIME. 

This  work  does  not  frequently  occur  and  was  found  in  only  one 
shop,  No.  1230,  in  which  6  men  and  9  women  operators  were  timed 
on  nearly  57  dozen  waists,  working  for  a  period  equivalent  to  1,126 
minutes,  or  more  than  18  hours  for  one  person.  In  this  style  of 
waist,  buttoning  in  the  front,  the  back  was  cut  in  three  parts,  the 
central  part  consisting  of  a  strip  3  inches  wide  which  was  joined  to 
each  of  the  other  two  parts  with  a  French  seam,  in  which  the  second 
seam  was  finished  on  the  right  side  instead  of  the  wrong  side,  as  is 
usually  done,  and  thus  formed  a  tuck.  The  output  on  this  work  on 
the  first  seam,  in  which  6  men  and  9  women  were  engaged,  was  100 
rows  of  stitching  per  hour.  On  the  second  seam  the  output  of  3 
men  was  148  rows  of  stitching  per  hour,  and  of  5  women,  114  rows,  the 
42132°  Bull.  146—14 17 


258 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU  OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


average  for  the  men  and  women  on  the  second  seam  being  127  rows 
of  stitching  per  hour.     The  output  for  the  two  seams  was  112 
of  stitching  per  hour. 

TABLE  89.— JOINING  PARTS  OF  BACK  WITH  A  FRENCH  SEAM,  FORMING  A  TUCK 

THE   SAME   TIME. 


Line 

No. 

Shop  number. 

Number 
and  sex  of 
operators. 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Length 
of  seam 
(inches). 

Waists 
(dozen). 

Stitching. 

Male. 

Fe- 
male. 

First. 

Sec- 
ond. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
worked 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

1 

2 
3 

4 
5 

Shop  No.  1230  

6 
3 

9 

P. 

16  to  17 

16  to  17 
16  to  17 

•  son 

11* 

2 

2 
2 

1,366 

298 
3<>0 

816 

121 
189 

- 

IS 

Do 

P. 
P. 

Do 

5 

Average,  lines  2  and 

Average,  lines  1  and 
4,    1st    and    2d 
seams 

1 29J  dozen  did  not  have  the  second  stitch. 
JOINING  SIDE  PIECES  TO  FRONTS. 

This  work  consists  of  sewing  side  pieces  or  gores  to  fronts  below 
the  waist  line.  The  pieces  are  short,  ranging  from  3  to  9  inches  in 
length,  most  of  them  being  between  3  and  5  inches.  The  work  was 
done  by  26  men  and  26  women  in  three  shops  on  nearly  236  dozen 
waists  at  an  expenditure  of  time  equivalent  to  over  22  hours  for  one 
person.  The  output  ranged  from  191  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in 
shop  No.  1284  to  310  in  shop  No.  1232,  the  average  being  250  rows 
of  stitching  per  hour. 

TABLE  90.— JOINING  SIDE  PIECES  (GORES)  TO  FRONTS. 
[No  hemming  attachment  used.] 


Line 
No. 

Shop  number. 

Number 
and  sex  of 
operators. 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Length 
of  seam 
(inches). 

Waists 
(dozen). 

Stitching. 

Male. 

Fe- 
male. 

First. 

Sec- 
ond. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
worked 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

1 

2 
3 

4 
5 

6 

Shop  No.  1284... 

4 

P. 
p 



3  to  4 
3  to  5 
5  to  9 
5  to  8 
5  to  8 

12* 
6f 

H7H 
48| 
50$ 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 

300 
156 
2,830 
1,  164 
1,208 

94 
41 

547 
318 
358 

191 
228 
310 
220 

202 

Do  

3 

Shop  No.  1232 

15 
8 

8 

P. 
p 



Shop  No.  1230.  .  . 

Do  

14 

p 

Average,  3  shops.  .  . 

250 

WAGES    AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    259 
JOINING  LACE  TO  STANDING  COLLARS. 

This  work  was  timed  in  three  shops,  taking  in  the  work  of  13  men 
and  8  women  on  118  dozen  waists  in  a  period  of  time  equivalent  to 
1,065  minutes,  or  more  than  17  hours  for  one  person.  The  work  con- 
sists of  joining  the  lace  to  a  collar  of  voile  or  lawn,  or  lace,  the  lace 
in  each  case  appearing  on  top  of  the  other  material,  and  stitching 
back  the  raw  edge  of  the  material  on  the  second  seam.  The  results 
are  found  to  be  fairly  uniform  in  all  shops,  ranging  from  132  rows  of 
stitching  in  shop  No.  1284  to  182  in  shop  No.  1232,  the  average  for 
the  three  shops  on  both  seams  being  161  rows  of  stitching  per  hour. 
On  collars  made  of  lace,  which  were  found  only  in  shop  No.  1284,  the 
output  was  119  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  for  5  men  and  101  rows  of 
stitching  for  4  women.  It  being  more  difficult  to  join  lace  and  lace 
than  to  join  lace  and  cotton  material,  it  is  natural  that  the  output 
on  the  former  should  be  less  than  on  the  latter. 

Line  19  shows  the  output  when  the  lace  is  joined  to  the  collar  in 
one  seam  instead  of  by  the  two-seam  process  described  above,  the  raw 
edge  of  the  material  being  turned  in  while  the  lace  is  stitched  to  it. 
The  output  of  one  man  and  two  women,  working  on  25  dozen  waists 
for  a  period  equivalent  to  139  minutes,  or  practically  2  J  hours  for 
one  person,  was  129  rows  of  stitching  and  129  "bendings"1  per  hour. 
Figuring  2  bendings  as  equivalent  to  1  row  of  stitching,  as  is  the  cus- 
tom among  some  manufacturers,  this  would  be  equivalent  to  194 
rows  of  stitching  per  hour,  or  11  rows  of  stitching  more  than  the  out- 
put in  the  same  shop  by  the  two-seam  process. 

Lines  20  and  21  show  the  output  on  facing  collars  with  a  finished 
binding.  The  binding  is  attached  only  at  the  two  extreme  ends  of 
the  collar,  being  3  to  4  inches  long.  The  work  is  done  in  two  opera- 
tions, the  binding  being  first  stitched  to  the  edge  of  the  collar  on  the 
right  side  and  then  turned  over  and  stitched  to  the  collar  on  the  wrong 
side,  which  makes  it  look  like  a  facing  on  the  collar  corresponding  to 
the  facing  on  the  back.  Five  men  and  three  women  were  timed  in 
shop  No.  1232  on  57 %  dozen  waists,  working  for  a  period  equivalent 
to  218  minutes,  or  more  than  3J  hours  for  one  person.  The  average 
output  of  the  8  operators  was  613  rows  of  stitching  on  the  first  seam, 
867  rows  on  the  second,  and  720  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  on  the 
combined  operation. 

*  Whenever  the  material  is  turned  in  as  described  above,  a  fold  is  formed  which  is  known  in  the 
trade  as  a  "bending." 


260 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR    STATISTICS. 


TABLE  91.— JOINING  LACE  TO  STANDING  COLLARS. 
[For  explanation  of  method  of  computing  averages  in  this  table  see  p.  250.] 


Line 
No. 

Shop  number. 

Num- 
ber 
and 
sex  of 
oper- 
ators. 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Length 
of  seam 
inches). 

Waists 
(doz- 
en). 

Stitching. 

Bendings. 

M. 

F. 

1st. 

2d. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
work- 
ed 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

Per 

waist. 

To- 
tal. 

Per 
hour. 

1 
2 

3 

4 
5 

6 

7 
8 

9 

10 
11 

12 

13 
14 

15 

16 

17 

18 
19 

20 
21 

22 

Collars  made  of  cotton 
material  : 
Fhop  No.  1232  
Do 

6 
fi 

P 

"P." 

14  to  18 
14  to  18 

65 
32* 

1 
1 

780 
390 

277 
118 

169 
198 

Average  

• 

182 

Shop  No.  1230  
Do  

T 

1 
2 

P. 

"P." 

17 
15  to  17 

4 
3i* 

1 

1 

48 
47 

18 
20 

160 
141 



148 

Shop  No   1284 

p 

= 

— 

•  -—  —  -•• 

= 

0 

14  to  15£ 

134 

1~£ 

! 

162- 
210 

61 
111 

159 
114 

Do 

9 

P. 

14tol5£ 

Average  

132 

Average,  3  shops: 
First  seam  .  .  . 
Second  seam  . 

Average  

8 
7 

1 

4 

P. 

"P." 

-     •"•.' 

14  to  18 
14  to  18 

82J 
53H 

! 

990 
647 

— 

356 
249 

167 
156 

~ 



161 

Collars  made  of  lace: 
Shop  No  1284 

5 

~~ 

P 

= 

15  to  16i 
15  to  16| 

26 
26 

1 
1 

312 
312 

182 
132 

103 
142 

""^ 

= 

Do 

T 

P. 

Average 

119 

Shop  No  1284 

= 

94 
11 

~7 



114 
132 

•1 

p 

15  to  16J 
15  to  16fc 

73 
73 

94 

108 

Do 

4 

P. 

•Vverage, 

101 

Shop  No.  1232  

Facing  collars  with  a 
finished  binding: 
Shop  No.  1232  

1 

______ 
25 

1 

"   ~ 

300~ 

2 

P. 



14  to  15 

i 

2 
2 

300 

1,380 
1,200 

139 

135 
83 

U29 

129 

5 

3 
^ 

P. 

"P." 

3  to  4 
3  to  4 

8» 

613 

867 

Average 

720 

1  Collars  made  of  voile. 
JOINING  "LITTLE  SKIRTS"  TO  WAISTS. 

Practically  all  medium  and  high  priced  waists  are  cut  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  end  at  the  waist  line,  an  additional  piece  called  "skirt" 
or  "little  skirt"  being  joined  to  the  waist  so  as  to  form  its  continuation 
below  the  waist  line.  Most  of  the  $9-a-dozen  waists  are  cut  full 
length,  so  as  to  save  the  labor  of  joining  the  little  skirt  to  the  waist. 
Sometimes  little  skirts  are  used  in  these  waists.  This  happens  either 
when  embroidered  fronts  are  used  and  it  is  desired  to  save  the  em- 
broidery below  the  waist  line,  where  it  is  not  seen  at  all  or  where  the 
nature  of  the  pattern  makes  it  advisable  to  cut  the  waist  in  this  man- 
ner so  as  to  utilize  the  material  to  better  advantage. 

Table  92 A  gives  the  record  of  various  operations  in  connection 
with  the  joining  of  little  skirts  to  waists. 


WAGES    AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    261 
JOINING  LITTLE  SKIRTS  TO  OPEN  FRONTS  AND  SHIRRING  AT  THE  SAME  TIME. 

Lines  1  to  5  show  the  output  on  the  operation  of  joining  little  skirts 
to  open  fronts  and  shirring  at  the  same  time.  The  work  consists  of 
two  operations :  In  the  first,  the  little  skirt  and  the  front  are  put  right 
side  to  one  another  and  joined  along  the  raw  edge.  In  the  second 
operation  the  raw  edge  is  stitched  back.  This  work  was  timed  in 
two  $9-a-dozen  waist  shops  covering  the  work  of  9  men  and  4  women 
on  nearly  48  dozen  waists,  involving  an  expenditure  of  time  equiva- 
lent to  544  minutes,  or  over  9  hours,  for  one  person. 

Lines  1  and  2  show  the  output  on  the  first  seam  in  two  different 
shops,  the  figures  being  132  and  108  rows  of  stitching  per  hour,  respec- 
tively, tfee  average  for  the  two  shops  being  126  (line  3). 

Line  4  shows  the  output  on  the  second  seam,  which  is  always  much 
greater  than  on  the  first,  to  be  319  rows  of  stitching  per  hour.  This 
makes  the  output  on  the  combined  operation,  taking  the  first  and  sec- 
ond seams,  187  rows  of  stitching  per  hour,  as  shown  in  line  5. 

- 

JOINING  TO  OPEN  FRONTS  WITHOUT  SHIRRING. 

Iii  this  case  the  shirring  or  tacking  of  the  waist  was  done  after  the 
little  skirts  were  joined  to  the  fronts.  This  accounts  for  the  length  of 
the  seam  of  the  open  front  at  the  waist  line  being  as  much  as  14  inches. 
The  work  was  timed  in  shop  No.  1232,  which  has  the  record  of  the 
highest  output  of  all  the  shops  investigated,  and  represents  the  work 
of  3  men  and  3  women  on  15  dozen  waists  for  a  period  of  time  equiva- 
lent to  99  minutes  for  1  person.  The  operation  consisted  of  sewing 
the  front  and  skirt  together,  as  explained  above,  except  that  there 
was  no  shirring,  and  the  output  was  218  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  as 
compared  with  132  in  the  same  shop  on  the  same  kind  of  fronts  when 
shirring  had  to  be  done  at  the  same  time.  In  other  words,  the  addi- 
tion of  shirring  resulted  in  this  case  in  nearly  40  per  cent  reduction 
of  output. 

JOINING  TO  CLOSED  FRONTS  WITHOUT  SHIRRING. 

Four  men  and  three  women  were  timed  on  this  work  in  the  same 
shop  on  nearly  50  dozen  waists,  which  took  the  equivalent  of  344 
minutes,  or  nearly  6  hours,  for  1  person.  The  work  was  exactly  the 
same  as  that  recorded  in  the  preceding  operation,  and  the  output  is 
nearly  half,  namely,  104  rows  of  stitching  per  hour,  which  is  explained 
by  the  fact  that  the  length  of  the  seam  was  more  than  double  that  in 
the  preceding  case,  since  the  work  was  done  on  a  closed  front. 

J  JOINING  TO  CLOSED  BACKS  AND  SHIRRING  AT  THE  SAME  TIME. 

The  shirring  on  a  closed  back  is  very  slight  and  therefore  does  not 
uce  the  output  of  the  operator  very  much.     The  work  was  timed 
;hop  No.  1232  only,  but  was  done  in  two  different  ways.     On  the  7i 
dozen  reported  in  line  8  of  Table  92A  the  raw   edge  of   the  little 


262  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

skirt  was  turned  in  before  it  was  joined  to  the  waist,  and  the  output  was 
90  rows  of  stitching  and  90  bendings  per  hour.  On  the  27J  dozen 
waists  recorded  inline  9,  the  raw  edge  was  not  turned  in,  and  the  output 
was  137  rows  of  stitching  per  hour.  If  a  bending  be  considered  equiv- 
alent to  half  a  row  of  stitching,  as  is  customary  with  some  manufac- 
turers, the  output  in  the  two  cases  will  be  practically  the  same. 

JOINING  TO  VESTS,  NO  SHIRRING. 

This  work,  given  in  line  10,  is  similar  to  the  joining  of  the  skirts  to 
fronts,  given  in  line  6,  the  only  difference  being  the  length  of  the  seam 
which  was  only  from  1J  to  4  inches  in  this  case  as  compared  with  12 
to  14  inches  in  the  former  case.  The  output  was  200  rows  of  stitching 
per  hour  as  against  218  rows  of  stitching  on  the  14-inch  seam.  The 
reason  for  the  smaller  output  is  the  fact  that  the  side  edge  of  the  li ttle 
skirt  was  hemmed  before  being  joined  to  the  vests,  and  in  joining  the 
two  the  operator  had  to  be  careful  to  have  the  facing  of  the  vest  and 
th$  turned-in  edge  of  the  li  ttle  skirt  form  one  straight  line.  To  what 
extent  this  reduced  the  output  of  the  operator  will  be  seen  from  the 
operation  recorded  in  lines  11  to  13,  the  description  of  which  follows: 

JOINING  TO  EMBROIDERED  CENTERS. 

In  this  case  the  part  of  the  little  skirt  attached  to  the  embroidered 
center,  forming  a  seam  of  practically  the  same  length  as  in  the  preced- 
ing case,  has  no  turned-in  edge,  and  therefore  it  does  not  matter  whether 
the  raw  edge  of  the  center  and  of  the  little  skirt  coincide  exactly, 
since  both  of  them  will  be  faced  later.  The  result  is  a  much  larger 
output,  namely,  294  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in  shop  No.  1232  and 
269  in  shop  No.  1230,  making  an  average  of  282  rows  of  stitching  per 
hour  for  the  two  shops. 

Line  14  represents  the  same  work  except  that  the  upper  edge  of  the 
little  skirt,  before  being  attached  to  the  center,  is  turned  in,  there  being 
thus  one  bending  to  each  row  of  stitching.  The  total  output  is  182 
rows  of  stitching  and  182  bendings  per  hour. 

JOINING  TO  OPEN  FRONTS  WITH  TWO  SEAMS  AND  TWO  BENDINGS  TO  EACH  FRONT. 

In  this  case  the  fronts  are  cut  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave  a  corner 
into  which  the  little  skirts  fit,  so  that  instead  of  being  joined  to  the 
front  along  the  waist  line  only,  as  is  usually  the  case,  they  are  joined 
along  two  sides:  First  along  part  of  the  waist  line,  a  distance  of  6 
inches,  and  then  along  a  line  forming  an  angle  with  the  waist  line  and 
running  below  it  a  distance  of  4  inches.  In  this  manner  two  seams 
and  two  bendings  are  formed  on  each  front,  making  a  total  of  4  seams 
and  4  bendings  to  the  waist.  This  work  was  done  in  shop  No.  1230 
by  1  man  and  4  women  on  15  dozen  waists,  working  for  a  period 
equivalent  to  231  minutes,  or  nearly  4  hours  for  one  person,  and 
showed  an  output  of  187  rows  of  stitching  and  187  bendings  per  hour. 


WAGES   AND    EMPLOYMENT   IN    DEESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    263 

JOINING   LITTLE   SKIRTS   TO   BACKS   OR   FRONTS   OF   WAIST,  SHIRRING  AT  THE  SAME 
TIME  AND  SEWING  ON  TAPE. 

Iii  the  operations  described  in  Table  92 A  no  tape  is  used  to  cover 
up  the  raw  edges  of  the  little  skirt  and  the  waist  on  the  wrong  side. 
On  higher-grade  waists  it  is  customary  to  cover  up  the  raw  edges  with 
tape.  This  was  also  found  to  be  the  case  with  some  of  the  cheaper 
waists  in  the  shops  investigated.  The  output  per  hour  on  this  class 
of  work  is  given  in  Table  92B. 

Lines  1  to  3  show  the  output  when  little  skirts  are  joined  to 
closed  fronts,  the  front  being  shirred  at  the  same  time,  and  the  tape 
being  sewed  on  to  the  little  skirt,  all  in  one  operation.  That  is  to  say, 
the  operator  must  handle  at  the  same  time  the  following  parts:  The 
front,  the  little  skirt,  and  the  tape;  and  while  she  joins  the  three 
together  she  mus*t  shirr  the  front  at  the  same  time.  In  the  second 
operation  the  tape  is  stitched  over  the  shirred  front  so  as  to  cover  up 
the  raw  edge.  The  second  operation  being  much  simpler  than  the 
first,  the  output  is  greater,  as  will  be  seen  from  lines  1  and  2,  namely, 
84  rows  of  stitching  as  compared  with  50  on  the  first  seam,  the  average 
for  the  two  being  63  rows  of  stitching  per  hour. 

Lines  4  to  6  relate  to  the  same  class  of  work,  except  that  the  work 
is  done  in  3  operations  instead  of  2,  as  follows : 

First  operation,  shirring  the  front  and  joining  the  little  skirt  to  the 
front  at  the  same  time. 

Second  operation,  sewing  on  tape  to  the  little  skirt. 

Third  operation,  stitching  tape  over  the  raw  edge  of  the  shirred 
front. 

The  second  and  third  operations  were  timed  together,  and  show  an 
output  of  130  rows  of  stitching  as  against  60  on  the  first  operation,  or 
an  average  of  82  for  the  combined  output  as  compared  with  only  63 
when  the  whole  work  was  done  in  two  operations. 

Lines  7  to  9  relate  to  similar  work  except  that  the  little  skirt  is 
joined  to  closed  backs  instead  of  closed  fronts.  As  the  backs  are  not 
shirred  as  much  as  the  fronts,  the  work  does  not  take  so  much  time. 
As  will  be  seen  from  lines  7  to  9,  the  output  on  the  first  seam  was 
83  rows  of  stitching  per  hour,  on  the  second  207,  the  average  being 
119  rows  of  stitching  per  hour. 

Lines  10  to  12  relate  to  similar  work,  except  that  instead  of  one 
closed  front  we  have  two  open  fronts,  with  the  result  that  the  seam 
measures  only  from  9^  to  11  inches  as  against  18  to  21  inches  on  a 
closed  front,  and  the  output  was  90  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  on  the 
first  seam,  193  on  the  second,  the  combined  output  being  122  rows  of 
stitching  per  hour. 

All  of  this  work  was  timed  in  only  one  shop,  No.  1284. 


264 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  92A.— JOINING  LITTLE  SKIRTS  TO  WAIST. 
[For  explanation  of  method  of  computing  averages  in  this  table  see  p.  250.] 


Num- 

ber 

and 
sex  of 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Stitching. 

Bendings. 

Line 
No. 

Shop  number. 

oper- 
ators. 

Length 
of  seam 
(inches). 

Waists 
(doz- 
en). 

Time 

M. 

F. 

1st. 

2d. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

work- 
ed 
(min- 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

Per 
waist. 

To- 
tal. 

Per 

hour. 

utes). 

Joining  little  skirts  to 
open  fronts,  shirring 

at  the  same  time: 

1 

Shop  No.  1232  

7 

2 

P+S 

8  to  13| 

37J 

2 

900 

409 

132 

2 

Shop  No.  1230 

9 

2 

P+S 

10  to  15 

10iV 

2 

242 

135 

108 

3 

Average          

— 

126 

4 

Shop  No.  1232  

8tol3i 

25 

600 

0 

? 

PS 

2 

113 

319 

5 

Average,  lines  1 

. 

and  4 

187 

Joining  to  open  fronts, 

-= 

= 

no  shirring: 

6 

Shop  No.  1232  

^ 

s 

P 

12  to  14 

15 

2 

360 

99 

218 

Joining  to  closed  fronts, 

no  shirring: 

7 

Shop  No.  1232  
Joining  closed  backs, 

4 

3 

P 

26  to  30 

&f 

1 

598 

344 

104 

shirring  at  the  same 

time: 

8 

Shop  No.  1232  

? 

1 

P+S 

15  to  16 

1\ 

1 

90 

60 

90 

1 

90 

90 

9 

Do 

4 

-[ 

P+S 

15  to  18 

27J 

1 

330 

145 

137 

Joining  to  vests,  no 

shirring: 

10 

Shop  No  1232 

i\ 

o 

P 

1$  to  4 

15 

2 

360 

108 

200 

Joining  to  embroidered 

centers: 

11 

Shop  No.  1232  

4 

P 

4 

20 

2 

480 

98 

294 

12 

Shop  No.  1230 

? 

4 

P 

3  to  6 

15J 

2 

372 

83 

269 

13 

Average  



282 

14 

Shop  No.  1230  

5 

2 

P 

=== 

3  to  6~ 

19j" 

2 

462 

152 

182 

2 

462 

182 

Joining  to  open  fronts, 
with  two  seams  and 

two  bendings  to  each 

front: 

15 

Shop  No.  1230  

1 

4 

P 

.... 

6 

15 

4 

.720 

231 

187 

4 

720 

187 

TABLE  92B.— JOINING  LITTLE    SKIRTS  TO   BACKS   OR   FRONTS   OF   WAIST,  SHIRRING 
AND  SEWING  ON  TAPE  AT  THE  SAME  TIME. 

[For  explanation  of  method  of  computing  averages  in  this  table,  see  p.  250.] 


Line 
No. 

Shop  number. 

Number 
and  sex  of 
operators. 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Length 
of  seam 
(inches). 

Waists 
(dozen). 

Stitching.       —  — 

Male. 

3 
3 

Fe- 
male. 

First. 

Sec- 
ond. 

R'ows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
worked 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

1 
2 

3 

4 
5 

6 

Joining  to  'closed  fronts, 
shirring,  and  sewing  on 
tape: 
Shop  No.  1284.. 

5 
5 

P+S 

"  PS  ' 

18  to  21 
18  to  21 

8* 

1 

1 

438 
438 

526 
313 

50 

84 

Do.  . 

Average. 

63 

60 

130 

Shop  No.  1284  
Do..   . 

P+S 

/PS" 

V  P 

19 

}      19 

17 
16* 

1 
2 

204 
398 

205~ 
183 

2 
1 

1 

Average  

•82 

—  rr 

____ 









WAGES    AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    265 


TABLE  92B.— JOINING   LITTLE    SKIRTS  TO   BACKS   OR   FRONTS   OF  WAIST,  SHIRRING 
AND   SEWING    ON  TAPE   AT  THE    SAME   TIME— Concluded. 


Line 
No. 

7 
8 

9 

10 
11 

12 

Shop  number. 

Number 
and  sex  of 
operators. 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Length 
of  seam 
(inches). 

Waists 
(dozen). 

Stitching. 

Male. 

Fe- 
male. 

First. 

Sec- 
ond. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
worked 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

Joining  to  closed  backs, 
shirring,  and  sewing  on 
tape:                           .  • 
Shop  No.  1284  
Do  

3 
3 

7 
9 

P+S 

US  to  154 
13  to  15i 

36J 
42J 

1 
1 

438 
510 

316 

148 

83 
207 

PS 

Average.  . 

119 

Joining  to    open    fronts, 
shirring,  and  sewing  on 
tape: 
Shop  No.  1284  

9J  to  11 

3 

4 

7 

7 

P+S 

44| 
481 

2 

2 

1,074 
1,158 

720 
360 

90 
193 

Do... 

PS 

122 

1  One  case  of  17  inches. 
HEMMING  EDGES  OF  LITTLE  SKIRTS  AND  JOINING  PARTS  OF  LITTLE  SKIRTS. 

The  work  of  joining  two  parts  of  a  little  skirt  together  is  very 
simple,  the  two  being  put  right  side  to  one  another  and  joined,  either 
leaving  the  edges  raw,  or  turning  in  the  raw  edges  like  a  hem. 

Lines  1  to  3  (Table  92C)  show  the  output  on  the  simpler  process, 
that  is,  when  the  edges  are  left  raw.  This  work  was  done  in  shop 
No.  1232,  known  for  its  high  output,  which  in  this -case  was  450  rows 
of  stitching  per  hour,  the  work  being  done  by  5  men  and  3  women 
on  50  dozen  waists. 

Lines  4  to  6  show  the  output  when  the  raw  edges  are  turned  in 
before  being  stitched  together.  This  work  was  done  in  shop  No. 
1284,  and  shows  an  average  output  of  212  rows  of  stitching  per  hour 
and  an  equal  number  of  bendings  per  hour.  Assuming  2  bendings 
to  be  equal  to  1  row  of  stitching,  the  output  does  not  vary  much  from 
that  of  shop  No.  1232,  given  in  line  30. 

Line  7  shows  the  output  when  a  French  seam  is  used  in  joining 
the  two  pieces  together.  This  method  is  used  very  seldom  on  cheap 
waists,  and  was  timed  in  shop  No.  1230  on  about  6J  dozen  waists, 
representing  the  work  of  1  man  and  2  women,  and  showed  an  output 
of  220  rows  of  stitching  per  hour,  which,  as  should  be  expected,  is 
much  below  that  shown  by  the  other  operations. 

Lines  8  to  11  show  the  output  when  the  edges  of  little  skirts  are 
turned  in  so  as  to  form  a  hem,  the  work  being  done  on  a  Singer  machine 
without  any  hemming  attachment.  The  output  of  the  three  shops  will 
be  seen  to  vary  from  213  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in  shop  No.  1230 
to  320  in  shop  No.  1232,  the  average  for  the  three  shops  being  252 
rows  of  stitching  per  hour. 


266 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOE   STATISTICS. 


JOINING  LITTLE  SKIRTS  TO  WAISTS  BY  A  CLOSER. 

Although  the  work  of  joining  little  skirts  to  waists  is  usually  clone 
by  body  makers,  as  has  been  shown  in  this  section,  occasionally  il 
can  be  done  by  a  closer,  as  was  the  case  in  shop  No.  1230,  shown  ii 
line  12  of  the  table.  The  work  of  joining  in  this  case  is  somewhat 
similar  to  closing  sides,  being  done  on  a  Union  Special  machine,  but 
the  seam  is  much  longer,  being  24  to  34  inches  long,  and  the  work 
takes  more  time  than  ordinary  closing,  because  the  waist  has  to  be 
shirred  while  the  work  of  joining  takes  place.  This  requires  greater 
care  in  adjusting  the  folds  so  as  to  make  the  length  of  the  skirt  and 
the  shirred  waist  exactly  alike. 

As  will  be  seen  from  line  12  of  Table  92C,  the  output  was  48  rows 
of  stitching  per  hour  in  shop  No.  1230,  the  work  being  done  by  a 
male  operator  of  average  speed.  This  figure  could  not  be  taken, 
however,  as  a  balSis  for  a  rate  to  body  makers  doing  the  same  work  on 
a  Singer  machine. 

TABLE  92C.— HEMMING    EDGES   OF   LITTLE    SKIRTS  AND  JOINING    PARTS   OF   LITTLE 

SKIRTS  TOGETHER. 


Line 
No. 

Shop  number. 

Num- 
ber 
and 
sex  of 
oper- 
ators. 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Length 
of  seam 
(inches). 

Waists 
(doz- 
en). 

Stitching. 

Bendings. 

M. 
5 

F. 
8 

1st. 

P. 

p. 

2d. 

Rows 
per 

waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
work- 
ed 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

Per 

waist. 

To- 
tal. 

Per 
hour. 

1 

2 

3 

4 
5 

e 

7 

8 
9 
10 

11 
12 

Joining  little  skirts  to- 
gether  in   front    of 
waist: 
Shop  No.  1232  
Do 

M  to  5 

32| 
17! 

1 
1 

390 
210 

57 
23 

411 
548 

Average 

— 

450 

Shop  No.  1284  

P. 
p 

**= 

1 

474 
438 

256 
179 

5 

'T" 

4 
3^  to  4 

m 

36£ 

1 

1 

474 
438 

111 

147 

256 
179 

\verage 

212 

212 

Shop  No.  1230  
Hemming  edges  of  lit- 
tle skirt,  two  skirts 
to  the  waist: 
Shop  No.  1232  
Shop  No.  1230  
Shop  No.  1284  

Average  ... 

P. 

2~ 

2 
2 
2 

42 

225 
366 
114 

220 

320 
213 
240 



1 

5 
3 

a 

a 

s 
in 
1 

F. 

P. 
P. 
P. 

5 

5 
4J  to  6 
4  to  5 

6A 

50 
54* 
19 

154 

1,200 
1,300 
456 

252 

Joining  little  skirts  to 
waists  by  a  closer, 
shirring  at  the  same 
time.2 
Shop  No.  1230  

27 

1 

409 

1    

— 

i 

P+S 

24  to  34 

324 

48 

One  case  of  4. 


2  Union  Special  machine  used. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DBESS    AND   WAIST    INDUSTRY.    267 

CENTERS. 

The  extreme  ends  of  the  backs  or  fronts  of  waists  are  lined  with 
material  to  give  them  extra  strength  to  hold  the  buttonholes  and 
buttons,  and  are  therefore  known  as  buttonhole  pieces  and  button 
pieces,  respectively. 

As  a  rule,  the  lining  consists  of  a  separate  piece  of  material.  Some- 
times it  is  formed  by  turning  in  the  end  of  the  back  or  front  about 
three-quarters  of  an  inch,  so  as  to  give  it  double  thickness.  On  light 
materials,  such  as  lawn,  chiffon,  etc.,  the  strip  is  made  usually  of 
triple  thickness  by  adding  a  separate  strip  to  the  above.  The  piece 
of  double  or  triple  thickness  thus  formed  is  known  as  a  facing,  in 
addition  to  being  also  called  a  buttonhole  piece  or  button  piece, 
according  to  the  use  to  which  it  is  put.  When  the  separate  strip  is 
stitched  over  the  front  on  the  outside  instead  of  being  stitched  on  the 
inside  as  a  lining,  the  piece  of  double  or  triple  thickness  thus  formed 
is  calle'd  a  "center."  A  center  may,  therefore,  be  defined  as  a  narrow 
strip  of  cloth  running  longitudinally  in  the  center  of  the  front. 
Facings  are  made  both  in  the  front  and  back  of  waists.  Centers  are 
made  only  in  front.  The  line  is  not  always  clearly  drawn  between 
facings  and  centers  in  the  trade,  and  frequently  all  kinds  of  button 
and  buttonhole  pieces  are  referred  to  as  centers.  In  some  cases  by  cen- 
ters are  also  meant  embroidered  or  lace- trimmed  strips  of  cloth  at- 
tached to  or  inserted  in  the  front  of  the  waist  to  secure  an  ornamental 
effect,  as  well  as  to  save  material  in  laying  out  the  patterns  on  the 
cloth;  such  centers  may  consist  of  one  or  more  thicknesses  of  material. 

A  great  variety  of  work  is  connected  with  centers,  some  of  which 
was  timed  in  the  various  shops  as  recorded  in  the  tables  following. 

JOINING  CENTERS  TO  LACE  OR  LACE  BEADING  ATTACHED  TO  FRONTS. 

This  work  was  timed  in  three  shops  on  60  dozen  waists  made  by  7 
men  and  11  women  working  what  would  be  equivalent  to  1,762 
minutes,  or  more  than  29  hours  for  one  person. 

The  work  consists  of  sewing  on  the  lace  to  the  centers  or  fronts  by 
means  of  two  seams,  as  explained  in  sections  8  and  9. 

As  will  be  seen  from  lines  1  to  9  of  Table  93,  the  output  on  the  work 
of  joining  centers  to  lace  beading  was  fairly  uniform  in  the  two  shops 
in  which  the  work  was  timed.  The  output  on  the  first  seam  was  101 
rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in  shop  No.  1232,  and  94  in  shop  No.  1230. 
The  output  on  the  second  seam  was  189  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in 
the  former  shop,  and  153  in  the  latter.  The  combined  output  on  the 
two  seams  was  132  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in  shop  No.  1232,  and 
116  in  shop  No.  1230,  the  average  for  the  two  shops  being  122  rows  of. 
stitching  per  hour.  In  the  work  just  described,  the  center  was  joined 


268  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR    STATISTICS. 

to  the  lace  beading  after  the  beading  had  been  joined  to  the  front,  the 
beading  being  stitched  on  top  of  the  cloth. 

Lines  10  to  12  relate  to  similar  work,  except  that  instead  of  being 
joined  to  a  lace  beading,  the  center  is  joined  to  lace.  This  work  is 
more  difficult  for  the  reason  that  a  lace  beading  has  a  fairly  heavy 
selvage  which  makes  it  easy  to  sew  it  on  to  the  cloth,  requiring  no 
particular  care  on  the  part  of  the  operator,  as  the  seam  remains 
practically  invisible  on  the  selvage.  This  is  not  the  case  with  lace,  in 
which  the  selvage  frequently  consists  of  only  1,  2,  or  3  threads.  In 
stitching  the  lace  to  the  cloth  the  operator  must  be  careful  to  have 
the  seam  run  along  this  narrow  selvage,  which  results  in  slowing  down 
the  work  considerably.  The  output,  as  will  be  seen  from  lines  10  to  12, 
was  only  79  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  as  compared  with  122  with 
lace  beading,  mentioned  before.  In  determining  the  relative  merits 
of  the  two  kinds  of  work,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  tests 
were  not  made  in  the  same  shops,  the  work  on  lace  beading  .having 
been  done  in  shops  Nos.  1232  and  1230,  while  that  with  lace  was  done 
in  shop  No.  1284  in  wjiich  some  of  the  operators  who  were  timed  on 
this  work  were  neither  so  skilled  nor  so  fast  as  the  operators  in  the 
other  two  shops. 

FACING  BACKS. 

Line  13  shows  the  output  in  forming  a  facing  on  one  back  by 
turning  it  in  and  interlining,  while  on  the  other  back,  instead  of  a 
lining,  a  label  is  inserted,  making  a  total  of  2  rows  of  stitching  and 
4  bendings  per  waist.  The  output  on  this  work  was  133  rows  of 
stitching  and  266  bendings  per  hour. 

FACING  FRONTS  WITH  MATERIAL  OF  DOUBLE  THICKNESS. 

This  work  is  done  by  taking  a  strip  of  material  2J  inches  wide  and 
folding  it  over  lengthwise  to  the  required  width  of  the  facing  and 
joining  it  to  the  edge  of  the  front  on  the  right  side  in  two  operations, 
as  follows:  First,  stitching  on  the  facing  to  the  edge  of  the  front  on 
the  right  side;  second,  the  facing  is  turned  over  on  the  wrong  side  of 
the  front,  the  raw  edge  of  the  facing  is  turned  in  and  stitched  to  the 
front.  As  will  be  seen  from  lines  14  to  22  of  Table  93  the  output 
on  this  work  on  the  first  seam  was  82  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in 
shop  No.  1230  and  84  in  shop  No.  1284;  on  the  second  seam  it  was 
120  rows  of  stitching  in  shop  No.  1230  and  106  in  shop  No.  1284. 
The  combined  output  on  the  two  seams  was  97  rows  of  stitching  in 
shop  No.  1230,  94  in  shop  No.  1284,  the  average  for  the  two  shops 
being  94  rows  of  stitching  and  94  bendings  per  hour. 

FACING  BACKS  WITH  MATERIAL  OF  DOUBLE  THICKNESS. 

This  work  is  done  in  the  same  manner  as  facing  fronts,  described 
above,  except  that  the  facing  is  extended  along  the  collar  and  in 
addition  to  the  two  operations  just  mentioned,  there  is  a  third 


WAGES    AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DEESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    269 

operation  consisting  of  turning  in  the  top  of  the  facing  and  stitching  it 
to  the  collar,  making  a  seam  three-fourths  inch  long.  The  second  and 
third  operations  being  done  one  after  the  other,  they  had  to  be  timed 
together,  and  are  therefore  given  in  the  form  of  a  combined  product 
per  hour.  The  output  on  the  first  operation,  as  will  be  seen  from 
lino  23,  was  86  rows  of  stitching  and  86  bendings  per  hour.  On  the 
second  and  third  operations,  the  output  was  57  rows  of  stitching 
23  to  24  inches  long  and  57  rows  three-fourths  inch  long  with  an 
equal  number  of  bendings  in  each  case. 

FACING  FRONTS  AND  INSERTING  LACE  ON  ONE  SIDE  OF  WAIST  AT  THE  SAME  TIME. 

This  work  includes  the  following  operations:  One  front  ends  with 
an  embroidered  center  having  a  scalloped  edge.  A  strip  of  lace  was 
used  as  a  facing  and  in  turn  was  lined  by  a  strip  of  material  folded 
in  two,  lengthwise,  with  each  of  its  raw  edges  bent  in.  The  three 
parts,  that  is  to  say,  the  embroidered  front,  the  lace  and  the  facing 
were  placed  on  top  of  each  other  in  the  order  named,  and  all  joined 
in  one  seam,  thus  making  three  bendings  and  one  row  of  stitching 
for  one  front.  The  other  front  had  an  ordinary  facing.  Only  one 
row  of  stitching  in  that  operation  was  timed  in  connection  with  the 
work  recorded  in  line  25,  the  stitching  over  and  the  bendings  being 
timed  in  connection  with  another  operation.  We  thus  have  a  total 
of  2  rows  of  stitching  and  3  bendings  per  waist,  the  output  per  hour 
being  36  rows  of  stitching  and  55  bendings. 

JOINING  CENTERS  TO  FRONTS  WITH  BENDINGS  IN  FORM  OF  A  TUCK. 

In  this  work  the  raw  edge  of  the  center  is  turned  in  and  stitched  on 
top  of  the  front.  The  stitching  is  done  at  some  distance  from  the 
edge  so  as  to  form  a  tuck.  This  work  is  necessarily  slower  than 
the  ordinary  way  of  finishing  the  strip,  because  the  operator  must 
be  careful  to  see  that  the  width  of  the  tuck  is  the  same  as  that  of 
the  other  tucks  on  the  front.  The  output  of  2  men  and  1  woman, 
working  on  8J  dozen,  was  57  rows  of  stitching  and  57  bendings  per 
hour. 


270  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

TABLE  93.— CENTERS. 
[For  explanation  of  method  of  computing  averages  in  this  table  see  page  250.] 


Line 
No. 

Shop  number. 

Num- 
ber 
and 
sex  of 
oper- 
ators. 

Kind  of 

seam. 

Length 
of  seam 
(inches). 

Waists 
(doz- 
en). 

Stitching. 

Bendings. 

1C. 

P. 

1st. 

2d. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
work- 
ed 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

Per 

waist. 

To- 
tal. 

r 

hour. 

1 
2 

3 

4 
5 

6 

7 
8 

9 

10 
11 

12 

•  13 

14 
15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 
21 

22 

23 
24 

25 

26 

Joining  fronts  with  lace 
beading  to  centers: 
Shop  No.  1232  

1 
1 

2 
2 

P. 

"P. 

19 
19 

? 

2 
2 

180 
120 

107 

38 

101 
189 

Average 

132 

Shop  No.  1230  
Do 

2 
2 

3 

a 

P. 

"P." 

16  to  18 
16  to  17 

* 

2 
2 

348 
156 

223 
61 

94 
153 

Average 

116 

Average,  shops 
Nos.  1230  and 
1232: 
First  seam.. 
Second  seam. 

Average 

J 

16  to  19 
16  to  19 

::_:: 

5 
5 

P. 

"P." 

22 
1H 

2 
2 

52S 
276 

330 
99 

96 
167 

.... 

122 

Joining  front  with  lace 
to  embroidered  cen- 
ter: 
Shop  No.  1284  

19  to  23 
18  to  23 

912 

828 

796 
537 

= 

4 

2 

5 

t. 

P. 

"P." 

38 
31* 

2 
2 

69 
93 

Average 



79 

One  back  turned  in 
and  interlined;  other 
back  turned  in  and 
label  inserted  : 
Shop  No.  1232  
Facing  fronts  with  ma- 
terial    of     double 
thickness: 
Shop  No.  1230  
Do  

4 
1 



2 

1 
2 

P. 
P. 

"P." 

21 

21 
21 

42i 

4 
3 

2 

2 
2 

1,020 

96 

72 

461 

70 
36 

133 

82 
120 

4 

2 
2 

2,040 

96 
72 

120 

Average 

— 



97 

106 

Shop  No.  1284... 

1)0  

~<i 
6 

19  to  23 
19  to  23 

22£ 
20 

540 

480 

3 

1 

P. 

P." 

2 
2 

540 
480 

385 
272 

84 
106 

2 
2 

Average 

91 

108 

Average,    shops 
Nos.  1230  and 
1284: 
First  seam... 
Second  seam. 

Average  

7 
6 

•i 
3 

26£ 

23 

P. 

"P." 

21 
21 

2 
2 

636 
552 

455 
308 

84 
108 

2 
2 

636 
552 

94 

j 

Facing  backs  with  ma- 
terial    of     double 
thickness: 
Shop  No.  1284  

Do 

i 

2 
2 
2 

2 
2 

648 
648 
648 

96 
204 

450 
)•    680 

158 
215 

86 

/      57 
\      57 

36 
57 

2 
2 
2 

3 
2 

(MS 
648 
648 

144 
204 

2 
^ 

P. 

P. 

23  to  24 
/23to24 

18 
19 

27 
27 
27 

4 
8j 

Facing  fronts  and  in- 
serting lace  on  one 
side  of  waist  at  the 
same  time: 
Shop  No.  1284  
Joining     centers     to 
fronts    with    bend- 
ings  in  form  of  tuck: 
Shop  No.  1230  

2 
2 

1 

P. 
P. 

WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DKESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    271 
*  RUFFLES  AND  CENTERS. 

JOINING  PLAITED  RUFFLES  TO  FRONTS  AND  CENTERS. 

Line  1  of  Table  94  relates  to  work  in  which  the  center  is  folded  in 
two,  the  ruffle  is  put  on  top  of  the  open  edge  of  the  center,  and  the 
free  edge  of  the  lace  beading  which  is  attached  to  the  front  is  put  on 
top  of  the  ruffle,  and  all  of  this  is  joined  in  one  seam.  In  addition  to 
being  obliged  to  handle  all  these  parts  at  the  same  time,  the  operator 
must  shirr  the  ruffle  while  the  stitching  is  being  done.  The  compli- 
cated character  of  the  work  makes  it  necessarily  slow.  The  output 
on  this  work  in  shop  No.  1230  was  found  to  be  58  rows  of  stitching  per 
hour  in  addition  to  58  bendings. 

Line  2  represents  the  same  class  of  work  except  that  instead  of  a 
folded  center  we  have  a  vest  and  the  front  has  a  raw  edge  instead  of 
a  lace  beading.  In  this  case  the  ruffle  is  inserted  in  the  same  manner 
as  in  the  preceding  case,  except  that  instead  of  the  lace  beading  the 
turned-in  raw  edge  of  the  front  is  put  on  top  of  the  ruffle  and  the  whole 
stitched  together,  there  being  thus  2  bendings  to  each  .row  of  stitch- 
ing. The  output  on  this  operation  is  slightly  greater  than  in  the 
preceding  case,  namely,  63  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  and  126  bend- 
ings. This  is  due  to  two  reasons:  First,  that  the  ruffles  had  been 
shirred  and  stitched  before  they  were  given  to  the  operator,  whereas 
in  the  preceding  case  they  had  to  be  shirred  by  the  operator  while  the 
rest  of  the  work  was  being  done;  second,  the  work  was  done  in  shop 
No.  1232,  which  has  generally  a  record  for  a  higher  output  than  shop 
No.  1230,  in  which  the  preceding  job  was  done. 

Line  3  relates  to  somewhat  more  difficult  work.  An  embroidered 
center  is  stitched  to  the  front  on  the  wrong  side.1  It  is  then  turned  over 
on  the  right  side  of  the  front  and  the  ruffle  inserted  between  the  free 
edge  of  the  center  and  the  front,  and  the  three  stitched  together.  The 
reason  this  work  is  more  difficult  than  the  preceding  two  is  that  the 
center  and  front  having  been  stitched  together  in  the  first  place,  it  is 
necessary  to  take  care  that  the  center  lies  flat  on  the  front,  and  that 
the  three  pieces  are  perfectly  aligned,  as  the  material  on  top  (in  this 
case  the  center)  has  a  tendency  to  get  out  of  line  with' the  material 
underneath  (i.  e.,  the  front)  on  account  of  the  pressure  of  the  "foot," 
which  is  greater  on  the  top  layer  of  the  material  than  on  the  lower 
one.  If  this  is  not  corrected  by  the  operator  before  it  is  stitched,  the 
center  will  wrinkle  all  over  and  spoil  the  appearance  of  the  waist. 
This  accounts  for  the  smaller  output  on  this  kind  of  work  which  was 
only  51  rows  of  stitching  and  102  bendings  per  hour  in  the  same  shop 
in  which  the  work  described  in  the  preceding  paragraph  was  done. 

1  This  part  of  the  work  is  not  included  in  the  figures  given  in  line  3  of  the  table. 


272  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR    STATISTICS. 

JOINING  SHIRRED  LACE  TO  LACE  CENTERS.        * 

Line  4  shows  the  output  when  shirred  lace  is  stitched  to  a  lace  center 
1  inch  wide  and  20  inches  long,  the  lace  being  stitched  on  along  the 
upper  and  side  edge  of  the  center.  The  difficult  part  of  this  work  is  in 
turning  the  corner  as  the  operator  turns  from  the  upper  to  the  side 
edge.  At  this  corner  the  shirred  lace  must  be  bent  in  and  extra  shirr- 
ing and  stitching  must  be  done  to  prevent  the  turned-in  part  of  the 
lace  from  protruding  at  the  corner,  so  as  to  give  it  a  neat  and  flat 
appearance.  The  operation  requires  only  one  seam  and  resulted  in 
an  output  of  31  rows  of  stitching  per  hour. 

Line  5  represents  a  similar  process  except  that  the  lace  was  shirred 
at  the  same  time  as  it  was  joined  to  the  center  instead  of  having  been 
shirred  previously,  as  in  the  preceding  case.  This  made  the  work  still 
slower,  resulting  in  an  output  of  26  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in  the 
same  shop,  No.  1284. 

JOINING  LACE  TO  PLAITED  RUFFLES. 

Line  6  shows  the  output  when  lace  is  stitched  to  a  plaited  ruffle,  the 
shirring  being  done  while  the  stitching  goes  on.  As  this  work  was 
done  on  a  straight  line,  there  being  no  corners  to  turn,  the  output  was 
larger  than  in  the  two  preceding  cases,  namely,  36  rows  of  stitching 
per  hour  on  the  first  seam.  On  the  second  seam,  consisting  of  the 
stitching  back  of  the  raw  edge  of  the  ruffle,  the  output  was  97  rows  of 
stitching  per  hour,  the  average  for  the  two  being  53. 

JOINING  LACE  BEADING  TO  PLAITED  RUFFLES. 

Lines  9  to  11  represent  practically  the  same  operations,  except  that 
lace  beading  is  used  in  place  of  lace  and  that  the  work  is  done  by  the 
yard  instead  of  on  individual  waists.  This  work  was  likewise  done 
in  shop  No.  1284.  The  output  on  the  first  seam  was  27  yards  per 
hour.  On  the  second  seam,  consisting  of  stitching  back  the  ra\7  edge 
of  the  ruffle,  the  output  was  80J  yards  per  hour,  the  average  of  the  two 
being  40  yards. 


WAGES    AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DEESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    27$ 


TABLE  94.— RUFFLES  AND  CENTERS. 
[For  explanation  of  method  of  computing  averages  in  this  table  see  p.  250.] 


Line 

No. 

Shop  number. 

Num- 
ber 
and 
sex  of 
oper- 
ators. 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Length 
of  seam 
(inches.) 

Waists 
(doz- 
en). 

Stitching. 

Bendings. 

If. 

F. 

1st. 

2d. 

Rows 
per 

waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
work- 
ed 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

Per 

waist. 

To- 
tal. 

Per 
hour. 

1 

2 
3 

4 
5 

6 

; 

10 
11 

Joining  plaited  ruf- 
fles to  fronts  and 
centers: 
Shop  No.  1230... 
Shop  No.  1232... 
Do  
Joining  shirred  lace 
to  lace  centers: 
Shop  No.  1284... 

2 
1 

3 

2 
3 

4 

1 
1 

3 
^ 

P+S 
PS 
PS 

PS 

P+S 

P+S 

PS 

17§  to  19 
24 
23 

20 
18 

19  to  20 
19  to  20 

H* 

10 

in 

i 

2 

7 

land  2 
2 
2 

2 
2 

1 

1 

190 
240 
420 

24 

48 

84 

84 

196 
228 
493 

46 
109 

139 

52 

58 
63 
51 

31 
26 

36 
97 

land  2 
4 
4 

190 
480 
840 

58 
126 
102 

Do     

Joining  lace  to  plaited 

Shop  No.  1284... 
Do 

... 

Average  





• 

53 

Joining  lace  beading 
to  plaited  ruffle: 
Shop  No.  1284... 
Do  

2 
? 

.   1 

P+S 

1 
1 

13,048 
12,076 

"m 

43 

227 
280| 

PS 

Average 

— 



—  .  



. 

2  40 

I 

Inches. 


2  Yards. 


VESTS  AND  FLIES. 

A  vest  is  made  by  folding  a  piece  of  material  about  24  inches  long 
lengthwise  and  stitching  over  the  upper  end  of  it  diagonally  across. 
Some  vests  are  made  of  a  piece  of  material  of  single  thickness  lined 
with  a  layer  of  other  material.  This  is  true  especially  of  vests  made 
of  heavy  material,  such  as  madras,  heavy  linen,  or  any  embroidered 
material,  the  lining  being  made  of  much  lighter  material.  The  next 
step  is  to  turn  the  vest  inside  out ;  the  two  open  ends  are  then  turned 
in  slightly  to  conceal  the  raw  edges,  and  the  raw  edge  of  the  front  of 
the  waist  is  inserted  and  the  whole  is  stitched  together,  thus  forming  a 
vest. 

JOINING  LINED  VESTS  TO  FRONTS. 

Line  1  of  Table  95  shows  the  output  on  work  of  this  kind  in  which 
only  the  operation  of  joining  the  vest  to  the  front  was  timed.  Instead 
of  inserting  the  raw  edge  of  the  front  into  the  open  vest,  the  work  was 
simplified,  since  it  was  done  on  very  cheap  waists,  by  turning  in  the 
raw  edge  of  the  front,  placing  it  on  top  of  the  open  end  of  the  vest, 
and  stitching  the  whole  together.  This  work  was  done  by  6  men  and 
4  women  in  shop  No.  1232,  and  showed  an  output  of  63  rows  of 
stitching  and  63  bendings  per  hour. 
42132°— Bull.  146—14 18 


274  BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUBEAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

TURNING  OUT  AND  JOINING  LINED  VESTS  TO  FRONTS. 

Line  2  shows  the  output  on  the  same  kind  of  work,  to  which  is  added 
the  turning  out  of  the  vest  which  precedes  its  joining  to  the  waist. 
The  output  is  therefore  less  than  in  the  preceding  case — namely,  53 
rows  of  stitching  and  53  bendings  per  hour. 

TURNING  OUT  VESTS. 

Finally,  line  3  shows  the  operation  of  turning  out  lined  vests,  the 
output  being  147  vests  per  hour  in  addition  to  147  bendings.  The 
turning  out  of  the  lined  vests  takes  more  time  than  that  of  vests 
made  of  one  piece  of  material  folded  over,  because  in  the  case  of  the 
lined  vest  the  operator  must  see  to  it  that  the  seam  joining  the  vest 
with  the  lining  lies  exactly  on  the  edge  of  the  turned-out  vest. 

MAKING  FLIES. 

The  making  of  a  fly  is  similar  to  the  making  of  a  vest.  A  strip  of 
material  is  folded  over  lengthwise,  but  instead  of  being  stitched  at  the 
top  on  a  bias  line,  it  is  stitched  straight  across — that  is,  along  the  top 
edge — and  then,  as  in  the  case  of  the  vest,  it  is  turned  inside  out.  The 
raw  edges  of  the  strip  are  then  turned  in  and  the  open  ends  of  the  fly  are 
closed  by  stitching  the  two  together.  In  some  cases  the  fly  is  left 
open,  and  the  stitching  is  done  simultaneously  with  the  joining  of  the 
fly  to  the  waist. 

JOINING  FLIES  TO  FRONTS. 

Line  4  shows  the  output  on  the  work  of  joining  flies  to  fronts,  the 
work  having  been  done  by  3  women  in  shop  No.  1284  on  7J  dozen 
waists.  The  output  was  39  rows  of  stitching  and  39  bendings  per 
hour.  The  turning-in  in  this  case  is  that  of  the  raw  edge  of  the  front 
to  which  the  fly  is  attached.  It  should  be  taken  into  account  that 
while  joining  the  flies  the  operator  had  to  carefully  measure  the 
front  so  that  the  collars,  laces,  etc.,  on  the  two  fronts  would  "match," 
that  is,  come  exactly  opposite  each  other  when  the  waist  is  buttoned, 
and  this  necessarily  slows  down  the  work.  Also,  that  instead  of  one 
row  of  stitching  on  each  front,  there  were  really  two  rows  of  stitching, 
one  from  18  to  20  inches  long,  and  the  other  3  inches  long,  made  as  a 
continuation  of  the  long  seam  connecting  the  upper  end  of  the  fly  with 
the  collar  on  a  bias  line. 

line  5  shows  the  second  part  of  the  operation  of  making  flies,  con- 
sisting of  turning  out  the  fly,  turning  in  the  two  raw  edges,  and 
closing  up  the  fly  by  stitching  them  together.  The  output  was  61 
rows  of  stitching  in  addition  to  123  bendings,  shown  in  the  table,  and 
the  further  addition  of  the  turning  out  of  61  flies,  which  is  not  shown 
in  the  table. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT    IX    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    275 


BINDING  TOP  OF  A  V-SHAPED  CENTER. 

Lines  6  to  8  refer  to  the  binding  of  the  upper  V-shaped  edge  of  a 
center.  As  in  all  work  of  this  kind,  the  binding  is  first  stitched  along 
the  upper  edge  of  the  center  and  then  turned  over  on  the  wrong  side  of 
the  center  and  the  raw  edge  of  the  binding  is  turned  in  and  stitched  over 
the  center.  As  will  be  seen  from  lines  6  and  7,  the  output  per  hour 
on  the  first  seam  is  132  rows  of  stitching,  while  on  the  second  it  is  only 
64.  In  addition  to  the  64  rows  of  stitching,  the  second  operation  also 
includes  64  ben  dings.  Moreover  f  the  binding  had  to  be  turned  in  at 
each  of  the  3  parts  of  the  V-shaped  center  so  as  to  keep  the  ends  from 
protruding  and  give  the  whole  a  neat  appearance. 

FACING  CENTERS  ON  TOP. 

This  is  done  by  folding  the  center  in  two  along  a  vertical  line  and 
stitching  it  over  along  the  upper  edge.  Line  9  shows  the  output  on 
a  center  with  a  V-shaped  top  edge,  so  that  when  folded  over  lengthwise, 
it  forms  a  vest  whose  upper  edge  runs  on  a  bias,  the  output  being  253 
rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in  addition  to  253  bendings.  Line  10  shows 
the  output  on  similar  work  on  a  center  whose  upper  edge  consists  of  a 
straight  horizontal  line.  In  this  ease  the  stitching  is  done  on  a 
straight  instead  of  a  bias  line,  and  the  output  is  greater,  namely,  313 
rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in  addition  to  313  bendings. 

TABLE  95.— VESTS  AND  FLIES, 
[For  explanation  of  method  of  computing  averages  in  this  table  see  p.  230.] 


Line 

No. 

Shop  number. 

Num- 
ber 
and 
sex  of 
oper- 
ators. 

Kind  of 

seam. 

Length 
of  seam 
(inches). 

Waists 

(doz- 
en). 

Stitching. 

Bendings. 

M. 

F. 

1st. 

2(5. 

Rows 
per 

waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
work- 
ed 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

Per 

waist. 

Total. 

Per 
hour. 

1 

2 
3 
4 

5 

6 

7 

r 

8 

9 
10 

Joining  lined  vests 
to  fronts: 
Shop  No.  1232.  .  . 
Turning    out    and 
joining  lined  vests 
to  fronts: 
Shop  No.  1232... 
Turning  out  vests: 
Shop  No.  1232... 
Joining  Hies  to  fronts: 
Shop  No.  1284 

6 

2 

4 

1 

4 
3 

2 

4 

4 

P 
P 

20  to  24 

23 
/18to20 
1           3 

20J  to  23 

6 
6 

5 

Si 

11 
11 

2 
2 

2 

2 
1 

1,198 
120 

132 

132 

132 

1,145 

136 
123 

278 

60 

124 

63 
53 
33 

61 

132 
64 

2 

2 
2 
2 

4 

1,198 

120 

302 
180 

264 

63 

53 
147 
39 

123 

P 

P 

"I" 

MAKING  FLIES. 

Turning     out    and 
stitching  side: 
Shop  No.  12S4... 
Binding  top  of  a  V- 
shaped  center: 
SnopNo.  1230... 
Do  

Average,  

i 

i 

1 

132  \        64 

86- 



Facin?    centers    on 
top  : 
Shop  No.  1232... 
Do 

2 

3 

FB 
P 

5 
2 

lo1" 

r 

2 

118 
240 

28 
46 

253 

313 

2 
2 

118 
240 

253 
313 

276  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF    LABOR   STATISTICS. 

TACKING  FRONTS  AND  BACKS. 

This  work  was  timed  on  more  than  175  dozen  waists  in  three 
$9-a-dozen  waist  shops,  representing  the  work  of  9  men  and  16 
women,  at  a  total  expenditure  of  time  equivalent  to  32  hours  and  6 
minutes  for  1  person. 

The  process  of  "tacking  consists  of  gathering  in  (or  shirring)  the 
material  at  the  waistline  in  folds,  and  stitching  them  over  so  as  to 
retain  them  permanently.  The  work  is  divided  into  two  operations: 
First,  the  waist  is  gathered  in,  either  by  hand  or  with  the  aid  of  a 
shirring  attachment,1  and  as  fast  as  the  folds  are  formed  they  are 
pushed  under  the  needle  and  stitched  over.  The  second  operation 
consists  of  putting  in  an  additional  row  of  stitching  a  short  distance 
from  and  parallel  to  the  first  row  so  as  to  secure  them  more  firmly. 

The  first  lot  of  waists,  represented  by  lines  1  and  2  of  Table  96, 
consisting  of  65  dozen .  waists,  operated  by  6  men  and  2  women 
operators,  was  made  up  of  waists  buttoning  in  the  back,  and  there- 
fore having  closed  or  full  fronts  and  open  or  half  backs.  As  the 
waist  is  always  more  full  in  the  front  than  it  is  in  the  back,  a  great 
deal  more  shirring  must  be  done  in  the  front  than  in  the  back;  since, 
in  addition,  the  front  in  a  back-buttoned  waist  is  more  than  twice  as 
wide  as  either  of  the  backs,  it  will  take  a  great  deal  more  time  to  tack 
the  front  than  either  back.  The  result  of  the  timing  of  the  lot  men- 
tioned, which  consumed  573  minutes,  or  nearly  10  hours,  shows  that 
the  output  per  hour  in  tacking  the  closed  fronts  was  297  rows  of 
stitching,  while  on  the  open  backs  it  was  614,  or  more  than  twice  the 
above  number.  As  the  operators  are  not  paid  for  tacking  fronts  or 
backs,  but  for  tacking  the  whole  waist,  and  as  there  were  two  backs 
to  each  front,  the  average  was  found  by  adding  the  output  on  one 
front  to  that  on  two  backs  and  dividing  the  total  by  3,  the  average 
output  thus  obtained  being  454  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  (line  3). 
It  should  be  observed,  however,  that  this  output  was  obtained  in 
shop  No.  1232,  which  shows  on  all  work  a  higher  output  than  any 
other  shop,  and  that  on  this  work  the  men  predominated,  number- 
ing 6,  to  2  women,  and  that  the  average  earnings  of  these  men  are 
50  cents  an  hour  and  more. 

Lines  4  to  10  of  the  same  taole  show  the  output  on  front-buttoned 
waists;  that  is,  waists  having  closed  backs  and  open  fronts.  While 
in  this  style  of  waist  the  front  is  likewise  shirred  more  fully  than  the 
back,  there  being  two  fronts,  the  amount  of  tacking  in  the  back 
exceeds  that  in  either  front,  though  it  is  less  than  the  tacks  of  the 
combined  fronts.  Lines  4  to  6  show  the  output  on  the  above  work  in 
shop  No.  1232.  The  work  was  done  by  the  same  6  men  assisted  by  4 
women  on  76f  dozen  waists,  which  consumed  the  equivalent  of  837 
minutes  for  one  person,  and  shows  an  output  of  375  rows  of  stitching 

1  No  shirring  attachment  was  used  in  the  work  covered  by  Table  96. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    277 


per  hour  on  the  closed  backs  and  408  rows  of  stitching  on  the  open 
fronts.  The  average  output  for  both  operations  is  396  rows  of  stitch- 
ing per  hour.  In  shop  No.  1230,  in  which  there  were  3  men  operators 
as  against  12  women,  the  average  output  on  the  same  kind  of  work 
was  286  rows  of  stitching  per  hour.  Lines  9  and  10  represent  the 
average  of  the  two  shops,  which  is  354  rows  of  stitching  per  hour.  In 
determining  a  standard  rate,  either  the  output  of  shop  No.  1232, 
No.  1230,  or  the  average  may  be  taken,  provided  the  proper  allowance 
per  hour  be  made  corresponding  to  the  figure  chosen. 

TACKING  FRONTS  OR  BACKS  WITH  TAPE. 

Lines  11  and  12  show  the  output  for  tacking  fronts  or  backs  with 
tape.  This  work  differs  from  that  described  above  in  that  the 
operator  sews  on  a  piece  of  narrow  tape  over  the  "little  skirt"  (the 
part  of  the  waist  below  the  waistline)  and  the  shirred  front  or  back 
on  the  wrong  side  of  the  waist  to  keep  the  folds  in  place  more  firmly. 
The  operations  of  shirring  the  front  or  back  of  the  waist,  sewing  on 
the  little  skirt  to  the  waist,  and  sewing  on  the  tape  to  the  two,  are  all 
done  at  the  same  time,  which  makes  the  work  more  difficult  for  the 
operator  than  ordinary  tacking  and  reduces  the  output.  The  figures 
obtained  are  for  shop  No.  1284,  which,  on  work  of  this  kind,  shows 
an  output  similar  to  that  of  shop  No.  1230.  The  output  shown  here 
for  open  backs  on  seams  from  4  J  to  7  inches  long  is  256  rows  of  stitch- 
ing per  hour,  and  on  fronts  open  and  closed  (mostly  closed)  on  seams 
from  7  to  8  inches,  151  ro\vs  per  hour. 

TABLE  96.— TACKING  FRONTS  AND  BACKS. 
[For  explanation  of  method  of  Computing  averages  in  this  table  see  p.  250.] 


Line 
No. 

Shop  number. 

Number 
and  sex  of 
operators. 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Length 
of  seam 
after  it 
is  tacked 
(inches). 

Waists 
(dozen). 

Stitching. 

Male. 

Fe- 
male. 

First. 

Sec- 
ond. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
worked 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

1 

2 
3 

5 

6 

7 
8 

9 
10 

11 
12 

Tacking  closed  fronts: 
Shop  No  1232.   . 

6 
6 

2 

2 



P+S 
P+S 

PS 
PS 

i  7  to  10 
31  to  5 

65 
55 

2 
4 

1,560 
2,640 

315 
258 

297 
614 

Tacking  open  backs: 
Shop  No.  1232  

Average  

454 

Tacking  closed  backs: 
Shop  No.  1232  

6 
6 

4 

.       4 

P+S 
P+S 

PS 
PS 

4$  to  8 
2  31  to  6 

76| 
76f 

2 

4 

1,842 
3,684 

295 
542 

375 

408 

Tacking  open  fronts: 
Shop  No  1232 

Average  

396 

Tacking  closed  backs: 
Shop  No.  1230  

2 
3 

8 
9 

1 
3 

10 
12 

14 
16 

2 
1 

P+S 
P+S 

PS 
PS 

3  4  to  6 
3J  to  7 

s  4J  to  8 
3Jto7 

4*  to  7 
7  to  8 

34i 
34£ 

1B8 

13 

2 
4 

2 

4 

4 
2to4 

820 
1,640 

2,662 
5,324 

840 
552 

I      516 

}  1,353 

197 
219 

286 

354 

256 
151 

Tacking  open  fronts: 
Shop  No  1230  . 

Average,   shops  1232 
and  1230: 
Tacking  closed  backs. 
Tacking  open  fronts  .  . 
Tacking  fronts  or  backs 
with  tape: 
Backs—  Shop  No.  1284. 
Fronts—  Shop  No.1284 

P+S 

P+S 
P+S 

PS 

PS 
PS 

1  One  case  of  12. 


2  Two  cases  of  8. 


3  One  case  of  2. 


278  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   LABOE   STATISTICS. 

SHIRRING. 

This  work  differs  from  the  tacking  described  in  the  preceding  sec- 
tion in  that  it  is  done  with  only  one  row  of  stitching,  the  folds  being 
left  quite  loose,  while  in  tacking  two  rows  of  stitching  are  made  which 
keep  the  folds  in  a  fixed  position.  The  shirring  with  one  row  of 
stitching  is  done  merely  in  preparation  for  the  next  operation.  Lines 
1  to  3  in  Table  97  relate  to  the  shirring  of  backs  and  fronts  at  the  top 
where  they  are  to  be  attached  to  the  yoke.  Some  operators  do  this 
work  by  placing  the  finger  behind  the  "foot"  (the  attachment  which 
helps  to  push  the  material  forward  as  fast  as  it  is  stitched).  This 
prevents  the  material  from  passing  forward  after  it  is  stitched  over, 
and  it  automatically  piles  up  in  folds,  that  is  to  say,  it  is  being  shirred. 
Although  this  method  offers  the  quickest  way  of  doing  this  work, 
there  is  danger  of  the  material  being  caught  in  the  gear  under  the 
foot,  and  many  operators  prefer  to  shirr  the  material  by  hand  as 
described  under  tacking. 

When  the  shirring  is  done  at  the  bottom  (i.  e.,  near  the  waist  line), 
it  can  not  be  done  in  the  manner  first  described,  for  the  reason  that 
the  folds  are  too  many  and  too  full  to  form  automatically  under  the 
"foot"  and  the  material  is  gathered  into  folds  (shirred)  by  hand  and 
pushed  under  the  needle.  An  examination  of  Table  97  will  show  that 
the  output  on  fronts  and  backs  varied  in  the  same  shop  from  285  to 
367  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  (lines  1  and  2).  This  was  due  to  the 
difference  in  the  length  of  the  seam,  which  is  practically  double  in  one 
case  as  compared  with  the  other.  While  ordinarily  a  difference  of  a 
few  inches  in  the  length  of  a  seam  does  not  perceptibly  affect  the 
output,  the  case  is  different  in  this  instance,  since  the  time  of  the 
operator  is  taken  up  chiefly  by  the  handwork  of  shirring  rather  than 
by  the  machine  work  of  stitching. 

Line  4  shows  the  output  on  shirring  an  entire  waist  at  the  waist 
line,  the  length  of  the  seam  being  from  28  to  30  inches  as  compared 
with  from  3  to  12  inches  on  the  work  described  above.  This  work  is 
more  difficult  and  takes  a  longer  time.  First,  because  a  row  of  stitch- 
ing in  this  case  represents  a  back  and  2  fronts,  or  1  front  and  2  backs, 
according  to  whether  the  waist  is  buttoned  in  the  front  or  in  the  back; 
second,  because  the  operator  must  be  very  careful,  in  shirring  the 
waist,  to  see  that  the  fronts,  backs,  and  sides  retain  a  proper  propor- 
tion; third,  because  the  shirring  at  the  waist  line  i«  much  more  elab- 
orate than  at  the  top  and  therefore  takes  more  time.  The  output  in 
line  4  is  seen  to  be  56  rows  of  stitching  per  hour,  which  is  equivalent 
to  168  fronts  and  backs,  and  is  considerably  below  the  output  in 
shops  Nos.  1232  and  1230  on  separate  fronts  or  backs. 

Lines  5  to  7  show  the  output  per  hour  in  shirring  lace.  This  lace 
comes  in  narrow  strips,  about  12  yards  long,  and  the  work  of  shirring 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DRESS   AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.    279 

these  strips  is  much  simpler  than  shirring  parts  of  waists.  The  aver- 
age output  per  hour  in  shop  No.  1230  was  52  yards,  in  shop  No.  1284 
71  yards,  the  average  for  the  two  being  65 1  yards. 

TABLE  97.— SHIRRING  DIFFERENT  PARTS  OF  WAIST:  SHOPS  NOS.  1232  AND  1230,  SINGER 
MACHINE;  SHOP  NO.  1284,  STANDARD  MACHINE.. 


Line 

No. 

Shop  number. 

Number 
and  sex  of 
operators. 

Kind  of  shirring. 

Length  of 
seam  after 
shirring 
(inches). 

Waists 
(doz- 
en). 

Shirring. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
worked 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

Male. 

Fe- 
male. 

1 

3 

4 

5 
6 

7 

Shop  No.  1232.... 

9 
8 
2 

7 
5 
3 
3 

Fronts  and  backs. 
Fronts 

7  to  12 

5  to  6 
3  to  5 
28  to  30 

el* 
11 

Ito2 
2 

1 
1 

1 
1 

997 
1,560 
270 
63 

U,854 
15,623 

210 

255 
62 
67 

59 
132 

285 
367 
261 

56 

252 
271 

Shop  No.  1230... 
Shop  No  1284 

Backs.  .  . 

Whole  waist  
Lace 

Shop  No.  1230.  . 

3 
3 

Shop  No.  1284.... 
Average.. 

1 

do 

2  65£ 

1  Inches. 


2  Yards. 


SETTING  HIGH  COLLARS. 

This  work  is  done  in  two  operations.  In  the  first  operation  the 
collar  and  waist  are  joined  together.  In  the  second  operation  the 
raw  edge  is  turned  in  and  stitched  over.  The  work  on  the  first  seam, 
however,  is  not  as  simple  as  sewing  on  an  ordinary  piece  of  lace.  The 
neck  of  the  waist  forms  a  more  or  less  circular  curve,  while  the  collar 
is  cut  in  almost  a  straight  line.  In  joining  the  collar  to  the  waist, 
the  least  deviation  of  the  seam  from  the  edge  of  the  neck  sends  the 
collar  along  a  more  or  less  concentric  line  of  a  larger  circumference 
since  it  is  farther  from  the  center  of  the  circle  formed  by  the  neck 
line.  As  a  result  of  this,  after  the  collar  has  been  stitched  down  to 
the  waist,  it  will  be  found  not  to  reach  all  the  way  around,  and  the 
operator  must  rip  it  off  and  do  the  work  all  over  again.  As  an  aid  to 
the  operator,  and  to  save  ripping,  the  collar  is  folded  so  as  to  indicate 
the  middle,  and  a  notch  is  made  in  the  neckband  of  the  waist  at 
the  corresponding  point.  But  even  with  these  guides  it  takes 
considerable  skill  and  experience  to  set  a  collar  that  will  be  smooth 
and  even,  and  whose  ends  will  meet  without  wrinkling  the  waist  at 
the  neck. 


280 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  98.— SETTING  HIGH  COLLARS. 
[For  explanation  of  method  of  computing  averages  in  this  table  see  p.  250.] 


Line 

No. 

Shop  number. 

Number 
and  sex  of 
operators. 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Length 
of  seam 
(inches). 

Waists 
(dozen). 

Stitching. 

Male. 

Fe- 
male. 

First. 

Sec- 
ond. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
worked 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

1 
2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 
8 

9 

Shop  No  1232 

7 
7 

p 

14  to  151 
14  to!5§ 

60 
60 

1 
1 

720 
720 

517 
350 

84 
123 

Do 

P 

Average 

100 

Shop  No  1284 

4 

= 

P 

"p" 

14tol5i 
14tol5i 

37~ 
34J 

1 
1 

444 
414 

286~ 
264 

93 
94 

Do  

1 

3 

\verage 

94 

Average,  shops  Nos. 
1232  and  1284: 
First  seam 

78J 
77i 

1 

1 

1,164 
1,134 

803 
614 

11 

p 

14  to  151 
14tol5i 

87 
111 

Second  seam  .. 

Average,     lines     7 
and  8 

8 

3 

P 

97 

SLEEVE  SETTING  BY  BODY  MAKERS. 

In  the  new  style  of  waists,  in  which  the  sleeves  are  not  set  in  at 
the  armhole  of  the  waist,  but  are  attached  a  few  inches  below  the 
shoulder,  the  sleeves  are  attached  in  a  straight  line  to  the  edge  of 
the  drop  shoulder,  and  the  work  is  done  by  body  makers,  as  it  does 
not  differ  from  the  stitching  that  has  to  be  done  by  body  makers 
on  other  parts  of  the  waist.  The  work  is,  therefore,  done  on  a  Singer 
machine,  although  this  machine  is  not  as  fast  as  the  Union  Special 
or  Metropolitan,  which  are  used  by  the  sleeve  setters,  and  although 
the  sleeve  setters  have  the  further  advantage  of  specializing  exclu- 
sively in  the  work  of  sleeve  setting,  it  will  be  seen  by  comparing 
the  figures  in  Tables  81  and  99  that  the  output  of  the  body  makers 
exceeds  that  of  the  sleeve  setters,  which  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
sleeves  on  which  sleeve  setters  are  employed  are  set  in  at  the  armhole 
on  a  curve  and  therefore  are  more  difficult  to  handle  than  the  sleeves 
attached  by  the  body  makers  in  a  straight  line. 

Table  99  shows  the  output  on  work  of  this  kind  done  under  different 
conditions.  Lines  1  and  2  show  the  output  when  sleeves  are  joined 
with  a  plain  seam,  without  lace  or  other  insertion.  The  work  was 
timed  only  in  one  shop,  No.  1232,  which  has  the  record  of  having 
the  highest  output  of  all  the  shops  investigated,  and  shows  an  aver- 
age output  of  159  sleeves  per  hour,  as  against  only  123  sleeves  in  the 
same  shop  by  sleeve  setters.  (See  line  1,  Table  81.)  The  output  on 
similar  sleeves  in  the  same  shop  in  which  a  tuck  f-inch  wide  was 
made  in  stitching  over  the  sleeve  where  it  is  attached  to  the  drop 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    281 

shoulder  was  139  (lines  3  and  4,  Table  99),  or  a  reduction  of  nearly 
13  per  cent  in  the  output  as  compared  with  the  preceding  case. 

Lines  5  and  6  show  an  output  of  149  sleeves  per  hour  when  the 
sleeve  is  joined  first  to  lace  beading  and  the  latter  joined  in  turn  to 
the  drop  shoulder.  Line  7  shows  the  output  in  shop  No.  1230  in 
joining  sleeves  to  a  beading  in  one  operation  instead  of  two  operations, 
as  indicated  in  lines  5  and  6.  As  explained  elsewhere,  the  necessity 
of  turning  in  the  edge  of  the  cloth  and  stitching  it  down  at  the  same 
time  as  the  joining  of  the  two  pieces  of  material  takes  place  results 
in  the  slowing  down  of  the  operation,  which  offsets  to  a  large  extent 
the  saving  of  time  due  to  the  elimination  of  one  seam.  The  output 
in  this  case  was  79  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in  addition  to  79  bend- 
ings,  which,  if  figured  at  the  rate  of  two  bendings  to  one  row  of  stitch- 
ing, would  be  equivalent  to  nearly  120  rows  of  stitching  per  hour,  as 
compared  with  149  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in  shop  No.  1232 
(lines  5  and  6),  done  by  the  two-seam  process.  However,  the  79 
rows  of  stitching  and  79  bendings  take  the  place  of  158  rows  of  stitch- 
ing under  the  double-seam  process,  resulting  in  a  saving  of  9  rows 
of  stitching  per  hour.  This  saving  is  insignificant;  as  a  rule,  it  is 
much  greater;  but  true  comp'arison  in  the  present  instance  is  impos- 
sible because  the  two  processes  were  timed  in  two  different  shops 
with  different  sets  of  workers  who  differ  in  skill  and  speed. 

Lines  8  and  9,  shop  1230,  show  the  output  to  be  127  rows  of  stitching 
per  hour  when  instead  of  a  lac©  beading  the  insertion  consists  of  a 
hemstitched  beading.  As  already  explained,  the  work  of  inserting 
a  hemstitched  beading  always  takes  more  time  than  that  of  a  lace 
beading,  because  in  the  former  case  the  cloth  is  sewed  on  top  of  the 
beading,  while  in  the  latter  the  lace  is  sewed  on  top  of  the  cloth, 
which  does  not  require  the  same  care  in  stitching. 

Line  10  shows  the  output  on  the  same  kind  of  work  with  a  cording 
to  be  only  108  rows  of  stitching  per  hour,  or  about  one-third  less 
than  without  a  cording  in  the  same  shop  (lines  1  and  2) .  The  reasons 
for  the  smaller  output  on  work  with  cording  are  explained  on  page 
253  in  connection  with  the  work  of  joining  yokes  to  fronts  or  backs 
(Table  85).  It  should  be  noted  that  this  output  does  not  include  the 
sewing  on  of  the  cord,  and  that  a  special  attachment  known  as  the 
" cording  foot"  was  used  in  joining  the  sleeve  to  the  drop  shoulder. 


282 


BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR  STATISTICS. 


TABLE  99.— SLEEVE  SETTING  BY  BODY  MAKERS:  SINGER  MACHINE. 
[For  explanation  of  method  of  computing  averages  in  this  table  see  p.  250.] 


Line 
No. 

Shop  number. 

Num- 
ber 
and 
sex  of 
oper- 
ators. 

Kind  of 
seams. 

Length 
of  seam 
(inches). 

Waist 
(doz- 
en). 

Stitching.  • 

Bondings. 

If. 

F. 

1st. 

2d. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

Time 
work- 
ed 
(min- 
utes). 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

Per 

waist. 

To- 
tal. 

Per 

hour. 

1 
2 

3 

4 

5 
6 

7 

8 
9 

10 

Sleeve  setting: 
Shop  No.  1232  
Do 

4 
4 

4 
4 

P 

•p- 

17  to  18 
17  to  18 

m 

17i 

2 
2 

420 
420 

181 
135 

139 

187 

Average  

159 

Setting    sleeves    and 
forming  f-inch  tuck 
at  the  seam: 
Shop  No.  1232  

2 

9 

4 
4 

P 

"p" 

17  to  18 
17  to  18 

15 
15 

2 
2 

360 
360 

154 
156 

140 
138 

Average     .  . 

139 

Joining  lace  beading 
to  sleeve  and  then  to 
drop  shoulder: 
Shop  No.  1232 

6 
6 

P 

"a" 

1,990 
1,990 

6 

6 

"p" 

15  to  16 
15  to  16 

2 
2 

919 

685 

130 
174 

Do 

Average     . 

149 

Shop  No.  1230    . 

1 

4 
2 

t 

8 

10 
9 

P 
P 

"p" 

13  to  17 

13  to  17 
13  to  17 

21| 

'& 

2 

2 
2 

520 

1,468 
1,022 

397 

784 
417 

79 

112 
147 

2 

520 

79 

Joining    hemstitched 
beading  to  sleeve  and 
then  to  edge  of  drop 
shoulder: 
Shop  No.  1230  
Do 

Average 

127 

S,  tting  sleeves  with 
cording:  i 
Shop  No.  1232  

9 

"~       == 

P 

7| 

2 

180 

100 

108 

1  Sewing  on  of  cord  not  included. 
JOINING  BELTS  TO  WAISTS. 

By  a  belt  in  the  waist  industry  is  meant  a  piece  of  material  about 
3  to  4  inches  wide  and  from  26  to  34  inches  long,  which  is  joined  to 
the  waist  at  the  waistline.  The  work  requires  several  operations, 
which  are  described  below  in  the  order  in  which  they  were  timed  in 
the  shops. 

FOLDING  OVER  EDGE  OF  BELT  AND  STITCHING. 

The  belt  is  folded  over  about  1J  inches.  The  turned-in  raw  edge 
is  then  stitched  to  the  belt  so  that  the  belt  now  consists  of  two  parts, 
one  part  of  double  thickness,  about  1J  inches  wide,  the  other  of 
single  thickness  also  about  1 J  inches  wide. 

This  work  was  timed  in  shop  No.  1284  on  18f  dozen  waists,  done 
by  1  man  and  3  women,  with  an  average  output  of  102  rows  of  stitch- 
ing and  102  bendings  per  hour  (line  1,  Table  100). 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DKESS   AND    WAIST    INDTJSTEY.    283 
JOINING  BELT  TO  SHIRRED  WAIST. 

The  belt  is  now  ready  to  be  joined  to  the  waist,  which  is  either 
shirred  previously  or  at  the  same  time  as  the  joining  is  done.  The 
belt  is  joined  to  the  waist  by  stitching  the  remaining  raw  edge  to  the 
waist  on  the  wrong  side. 

Line  2  of  Table  100  shows  the  output  when  a  belt  is  joined  to  a  waist 
previously  shirred,  while  lines  3  to  5  show  the  output  when  a  belt  is 
attached  to  a  waist  while  the  waist  is  being  shirred.  The  output  in 
the  first  case  is  46  rows  of  stitching  per  hour  in  shop  No.  1284.  In 
the  second  case  it  is  40  rows  of  stitching  per  hour,  or  15  per  cent  less 
in  the  same  shop  but  with  different  operators,  and  51  rows  of  stitch- 
ing per  hour  in  shop  No.  1232,  making  an  average  output  for  the  two 
shops  of  44  rows  of  stitching  per  hour.  It  is  natural  that  the  output 
should  be  considerably  less  when  the  shirring  has  to  be  done  while 
the  belt  is  joined  to  the  waist  than  in  the  case  when  the  shirring  has 
been  done  previously.  The  difference  in  output  would  probably  be 
greater  than  shown  in  the  table  if  both  operations  were  timed  with 
the  same  operators.  Unfortunately,  this  could  not  be  done  because 
different  methods  were  used  by  different  operators.  The  operators 
who  did  the  shirring  at  the  same  time  as  the  joining  were  more  skilled 
and  faster  workers  than  the  3  women  who  did  the  work  of  shirring 
and  joining  in  separate  operations. 

STITCHING  BELT  OVER  SHIRRED  WAIST. 

After  the  belt  has  been  joined  to  the  waist  on  the  wrong  side,  it  is 
turned  over  on  the  right  side  of  the  waist  and  stitched  to  the  waist 
along  its  (the  belt's)  upper  edge.  At  each  side  of  the  belt,  which  is 
now  about  1  inch  wide,  the  raw  edge  is  turned  in  as  in  a  facing  and 
stitched  over.  The  belt  is  then  stitched  over  the  waist  along  its 
lower  edge.  In  this  way  it  forms,  together  with  the  part  of  the  waist 
over  which  it  is  stitched,  a  belt  of  triple  thickness.  The  operations 
involve  a  total  of  4  rows  of  stitching  (2  long  and  2  short)  and  3  bend- 
ings  (1  long  and  2  short).  As  it  was  impossible  to  time  the  long  and 
short  seams  separately,  the  output  must  be  given  for  the  two  com- 
bined. The  output  in  this  case  was  58  long  and  58  short  rows  of 
stitching  per  hour,  in  addition  to  29  long  and  58  short  bendings. 

JOINING  BELT  TO  WAIST  AND  SHIRRING  AT  THE  SAME  TIME. 

The  operation  for  which  the  figures  are  given  in  line  7  of  the  table 
is  similar  to  that  given  in  line  4,  except  that  in  this  case  after  the 
raw  edge  of  the  belt  has  been  turned  in  it  is  stitched  right  side  to  the 
wrong  side  of  the  waist,  while  in  the  operation  given  in  line  4  it  was 
stitched  wrong  side  to  the  wrong  side  of  the  waist  (the  raw  edge  of 
the  belt  to  the  raw  edge  of  the  waist),  and  therefore  required  no 
bendings.  The  output  in  the  case  of  line  7  is  39  rows  of  stitching  and 


284 


BULLETIN    OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


39  bendings  as  compared  with  51  rows  of  stitching  with  no  bendings 
in  line  4.  The  belt  is  now  turned  over  on  the  right  side  of  the  waist; 
the  raw  edge  of  the  belt  is  turned  in  and  stitched  over  the  waist;  the 
side  ends,  1  inch  each,  are  likewise  turned  in  and  stitched  to  the  belt 
as  in  the  operation  given  in  line  6.  That  is  to  say,  on  the  second 
operation  there  is  one  long  seam  and  two  short  seams,  and  two  long 
and  two  short  bendings  to  each  waist,  figuring  the  turning  of  the  belt- 
over  the  right  side  of  the  waist  as  a  bending.  The  output  on  this 
operation  (line  8)  was  39  long  and  79  short  rows  of  stitching  and  79 
long  and  79  short  bendings  per  hour. 

TABLE  100.— JOINING  BELTS  TO  WAISTS. 


Num- 

ber 

and 
sex  of 

Kind  of 
seam. 

Stitching. 

Bendings. 

oper- 

Line 

No. 

Shop  number. 

ators. 

Length 
of  seam 
(inches). 

Waist 
(doz- 
en). 

Time 

• 

M. 

F. 

1st. 

2d. 

Rows 
per 
waist. 

Total 
rows. 

work- 
ed 
(min- 

Rows 
per 
hour. 

Per 
waist. 

To- 
tal. 

Per 
hour. 

utes). 

Folding  over  edge 

of  belt  and  stitch- 

ing: 

1 

Shop  No.  1284. 

1 

3 

p 

26  to  35 

181 

1 

225 

133 

102 

1 

225 

102 

Joining    belt    to 

-LO4 

shirred  waist: 

2 

Shop  No.  1284. 

3 

PS 

27  to  34 

14J 

1 

171 

222 

46 

3 

Do 

2 

P+S 

== 

j 

26  to  32 

4 

1 

48 

72 

40 

I 

4 

Shop  No.  1232. 

1 

P+S 

26 

9} 

1 

30 

35 

51 

\"~~ 

5 

Average, 
lines  3  and 

4  

3 

1 

P+S 

26  to  32 

6i 

1 

78 

107 

44 

Stitching  belt  over 

== 

^_ 

— 

— 

= 

= 

== 

= 

6 

shirred  waist: 
Shop  No.  1284. 

4 

/PS. 

I  P1 

26  to  34 
1 

}im 

t      2 
I      2 

396 
396 

}  407 

/    58 
\    58 

1 
2 

198 
3% 

29 
58 

Joining    belt    to 

waist  and  shirr- 

ing at  the  same 

time: 

7 

Shop  No.  1232. 

2 

P+S 

26 

5 

1 

60 

93 

39 

1 

60 

39 

8 

Do  

2 

1 

/PS» 

\    P2 

26 
1 

>   « 

{   I 

90 
180 

}  137 

/    39 
\    79 

2 
2 

180 
180 

79 

79 

1  One-half  dozen  waists  were  stitched  over  the  shirring  only,  and  not  over  flat  material. 

2  Only  one  (upper)  row  of  stitching  was  done  over  shirred  material;  the  other  was  done  over  flat  mate- 
rial (lower  edge  of  the  belt). 

LOSS  OF  TIME. 

While  the  work  was  being  timed  in  the  different  shops,  loss  of  time 
on  the  part  of  the  operators  was  carefully  noted.  Broadly  speaking, 
loss  of  time  in  the  factories  can  be  divided  into  two  classes :  (1  ^  Loss 
of  time  which  is  beyond  the  control  of  the  operator;  (2)  loss  of  time 
which  can  either  be  prevented  by  the  operator  or  is  caused  by  his  or 
her  personal  needs.  For  the  sake  of  brevity  the  former  may  be 
called  "involuntary  loss  of  time"  and  the  latter,  "voluntary  loss  of 
time." 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    285 

In  the  first  category  may  be  included  the  loss  of  time  caused  by  (1) 
waiting  for  work;  (2)  waiting  for  parts;  (3)  waiting  for  repairs  on  the 
machine,  or  cleaning  or  repairing  the  machine  by  the  operator  himself; 
(4)  time  taken  to  receive  instructions  from  the  foreman  or  instructor 
as  to  the  way  the  work  is  to  be  done. 

In  the  second  category  may  be  included:  (1)  The  loss  of  time  due 
to  tardiness  in  arriving  in  the  morning  or  after  lunch  and  leaving 
earlier  than  the  regular  time  for  the  noon  recess  and  the  closing  hour 
of  the  evening;  (2)  leaving  the  machine  to  attend  to  various  personal 
needs;  (3)  time  spent  in  repairing  work  which  has  been  returned  by 
the  examiners  on  account  of  some  defect. 

All  such  losses  were  noted  at  the  shops  and  the  results  are  tabulated 
in  Table  101. 

BODY  MAKING. — The  most  complete  information  as  to  loss  of  time 
is  available  in  the  case  of  body  makers,  the  data  covering  112  oper- 
ators in  three  shops,  all  of  them  making  $9-a-dozen  waists.  The 
data  in  these  tables  are  in  keeping  with  those  relating  to  output;  that 
is  to  say,  the  shops  which  showed  the  highest  output  showed  likewise 
the  least  loss  of  time,  and  vice  versa.  Most  of  the  headings  of  the  col- 
umns of  Table  101  are  self-explanatory.  "  Total  time  under  observa- 
tion'' is  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  " Total  time  worked"  and  of  all  the 
losses  of  time  given  in  the  preceding  columns.  The  column  preceding 
the  last  shows  what  per  cent  the  "involuntary  loss  of  time"  is  of  the 
time  the  operator  actually  spends  at  work.  The  last  column  shows 
what  per  cent  the  time  lost  on  account  of  breakdown  of  machinery  con- 
stitutes of  the  time  the  operator  actually  spends  at  work.  The  percent- 
ages in  the  last  two  columns  have  been  computed  for  each  operator  as 
well  as  for  each  shop  as  a  whole.  The  percentages  that  the  other  losses 
of  time  bear  to  the  time  at  work  are  so  small  that  it  has  not  seemed 
necessary  to  compute  them  for  each  operator  separately,  but  they  are 
given  for  each  shop  as  a  whole. 

As  regards  the  involuntary  loss  of  time — that  is  to  say,  the  total  loss 
which  the  operator  suffers  through  no  fault  of  her  own — we  find  it  to 
vary  in  shop  No.  1230  from  0.2  per  cent  for  operator  No.  106  to  as 
much  as  28.2  per  cent  for  operator  No.  110.  The  average  involuntary 
loss  for  the  entire  shop  on  the  basis  of  39  body  makers  who. were  timed 
in  this  shop  was  3.9  per  cent.  In  shop  No.  1232  the  involuntary  loss 
of  time  varied  from  0.4  per  cent  to  5.9  per  cent,  the  average  for  30 
operators  in  the  shop  being  3.1  per  cent;  while  in  shop  No.  1284,  in 
which  the  system  of  distribution  of  work  and  of  parts  is  very  poor,  and 
operators  are  frequently  obliged  to  wait  for  the  necessary  parts,  the 
involuntary  loss  of  time  varied  from  1 .3  per  cent  to  as  high  as  45.8  per 
cent  for  individual  operators,  the  average  for  38  operators  in  the  shop 
being  7.7  per  cent.  We  thus  have  three  different  percentages  for  the 
three  shops,  two  of  them  being  between  3  and  4  per  cent  and  the  third 


286  BULLETIN    OF    THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

nearly  8  per  cent.  Each  of  these  figures  is  believed  to  be  accurate  for 
the  respective  shops,  being  based  on  the  tuning  of  39,  30,  and  38 
operators,  respectively ,  whose  combined  time  at  work  under  observa- 
tion was  equivalent  to  729  hours  in  shop  No.  1230,  503  hours  in  shop 
No.  1232,  and  743  hours  in  shop  No.  1284,  yet  these  data  are  inade- 
quate as  a  basis  for  an  average  for  the  industry  as  a  whole.  The 
significance  of  these  figures  lies  chiefly  in  showing  how  great  the 
variation  actually  is  and  how  much  loss  of  time  can  be  eliminated  in 
shops  under  proper  management  in  the  light  of  what  is  being  done  in 
other  shops. 

It  should  be  noted  that  all  of  this  loss  of  time  was  found  to  take 
place  during  the  busiest  part  of  the  season.  This  is  a  time  when  it  is 
to  the  mutual  interest  of  the  employers  and  employees  to  reduce  such 
losses  to  a  minimum.  There  is  no  doubt  that  such  loss  is  much  greater 
at  other  times  of  the  year  when  the  foreman  knows  that  he  has  n3t 
enough  work  to  keep  the  operators  busy  throughout  the  day,  so  that 
the  incentive  is  lacking  to  tiy  to  utilize  every  minute  of  the  operator 
who  is  paid  by  the  piece.  It  should  also  be  noted  that  the  figures  of 
loss  of  tune  for  body  making  are  given  here  only  for  shops  making 
exclusively  $9-a-dozen  waists.  In  these  shops  the  loss  of  tune  caused 
by  waiting  for  work  and  waiting  for  parts  is  usually  less  than  in  shops 
manufacturing  the  higher-priced  waists,  owing  to  the  great  variety  of 
waists  and  parts  which  have  to  be  handled  in  the  latter  and  the 
smaller  bundles  which  are  generally  the  rule  there. 

If  we  analyze  the  involuntary  loss  of  time  in  detail  we  will  find 
that  waiting  for  work  constitutes  more  than  half  of  the  total  invol- 
untary loss  in  shops  Nos.  1230  and  1284,  and  more  than  a  third  in 
shop  No.  1232,  which  holds  the  highest  record  for  efficiency  among 
the  shops  investigated. 

In  noting  loss  of  time  caused  by  waiting  for  work  only  those  eases 
were  considered  where  operators  were  required  to  remain  at  the  ma- 
chines in  expectation  of  work.  Whenever  work  was  so  scarce  that 
operators  were  allowed  to  leave  the  factory  such  loss  of  time  was  not 
included.  Nor  was  it  included  if  the  enforced  idleness  was  of  long 
duration,  even  if  the  operators  remained  at  the  factory.  This  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  on  the  average  each  operator  was  timed  for  only 
about  three  days,  and  whenever  an  operator  remained  idle  for  any  length 
of  time  he  was  dropped  by  the  investigator,  who  transferred  his  atten- 
tion to  some  other  operator.  Such  a  procedure  would  not  be  justified 
if  an  exhaustive  investigation  of  idleness  during  work  hours  were  un- 
dertaken. Such  an  investigation  would  have  to  be  based  on  at  least 
one  month's  continuous  timing  of  the  operators  and  repeated  at  differ- 
ent seasons  of  the  year.  As  the  present  investigation,  however,  was 
primarily  conducted  for  other  purposes  and  operators  were  timed  for 
only  a  few  days,  idleness  lasting  several  hours  at  a  time  would  have 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DKESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    287 

formed  an  abnormally  high  percentage  of  the  total  time  in  many  cases 
and  was  therefore  not  included  in  the  tables  presented  here. 

Waiting  for  parts  was  the  next  largest  item  of  loss  of  time,  being 
more  than  a  third  of  the  total  in  voluntary  loss  in  shop  No.  1230  and 
more  than  40  per  cent  in  shops  Nos.  1232  and  1284.  Under  this  head 
was  included  all  the  time  an  operator  was  obliged  to  remain  idle  while 
waiting  for  any  material  or  parts  needed  in  his  work,  such  as  lace, 
embroideries,  and  parts  of  waists,  thread,  tape,  etc.  In  some  shops 
not  included  in  the  three  for  which  body-making  data  are  presented 
the  practice  prevails  of  starting  operators  on  new  jobs  whenever  they 
are  short  of  any  parts  which  can  not  be  readily  furnished.  The  result 
is  that  operators  have  as  many  as  three  or  four  unfinished  bundles  on 
hand  which  are  alternately  taken  up  and  put  aside  as  the  missing 
material  or  parts  for  the  different  bundles  turn  up.  While  such  a 
practice  may  be  preferable  to  total  idleness,  it  is  extremely  uneconom- 
ical and  wasteful  of  the  operator's  time  and  makes  efficient  work 
impossible.  It  is  one  of  the  principal  reasons  for  the  low  output  in 
shop  No.  1090,  as  shown  in  several  tables  in  this  report.  In  such  a 
shop  the  loss  of  time  caused  by  waiting  for  parts  might  appear  very 
small,  and  yet  the  real  loss  of  time  caused  by  constant  interruptions 
and  changing  back  and  forth  from  one  job  to  another  be  very  large. 

The  loss  of  time  due  to  breakdowns  and  repairs  of  machinery  is 
small,  being  from  0.2  per  cent  to  0.5  per  cent  of  the  time  at  work  and 
from  2  per  cent  to  15  per  cent  of  the  total  involuntary  loss.  It  should 
be  added  that  the  three  shops  for  which  the  data  are  given  are  all  well 
equipped  with  new  machinery. 

The  loss  of  time  on  account  of  instruction  given  to  operators  on 
new  work  is  still  less  than  that  caused  by  machine  breakdowns.  This 
is  an  item  that  is  naturally  present  to  a  much  smaller  extent  in  shops 
making  $9-a-dozen  waists  than  in  those  manufacturing  garments  of 
higher  grade.  Moreover,  it  is  g,  practice  that  manufacturers  could 
well  afford  to  extend,  for  the  more  thorough  and  frequent  the  instruc- 
tion received  by  the  operators  the  more  efficient  will  be  their  work. 
At  present  too  little  is  being  done  in  this  regard  in  most  shops,  and 
every  additional  dollar  spent  on  instructors  would  prove  a  most  profit- 
able investment  to  the  manufacturers  as  well  as  result  in  increased 
earnings  by  the  operators  at  the  same  piece  rates. 

As  to  the  loss  of  time  caused  by  the  operator  himself  or  incurred  for 
the  operator's  own  needs,  it  seems  to  be  much  less  than  that  beyond 
his  control.  Thus  the  loss  of  time  caused  by  tardiness  and  leaving 
early  was  1.5  per  cent  of  the  time  worked  in  shop  No.  1230,  1.2  per 
cent  in  shop  No.  1232,  and  1.2  per  cent  in  shop  No.  1284.  The  loss 
of  time  due  to  personal  needs  was  1  per  cent,  in  shop  No.  1230,  0.9 
per  cent  in  shop  No.  1232,  and  0.5  per  cent  in  shop  No.  1284.  The 
time  spent  in  repairing  defective  work  was  0.4  per  cent  in  shop  No. 


288  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOE    STATISTICS. 

1230,  0.6  per  cent  in  shop  No.  1232,  and  0.7  per  cent  in  shop  No.  1284. 
These  figures  may  also  be  below  the  average  for  the  year,  for  just  as  the 
foreman  is  more  anxious  to  save  unnecessary  loss  of  time  at  the  height 
of  the  season  than  at  other  times,  so  are  the  operators  more  punctual 
in  coming  and  going  when  work  is  plentiful  than  when  the  season  is 
slack. 

CLOSING. — The  data  were  obtained  for  five  shops,  all  of  them  making 
$9-a-dozen  waists.  The  involuntary  loss  of  time  constituted  8.8  per 
cent  of  the  time  spent  at  work  in  shop  No.  1110,  7  per  cent  in  shop 
No.  1191,  6.9  per  cent  in  shop  No.  1232,  5.6  per  cent  in  shop  No.  1284, 
and  18.5  per  cent  in  shop  No.  1230.  The  other  details  appear  in  the 
table. 

SLEEVE  SETTING. — Information  on  this  was  obtained  in  two  shops. 
The  involuntary  loss  of  time  constituted  26.7  per  cent  of  the  time 
worked  in  shop  No.  1284  and  6.2  per  cent  in  shop  No.  1191.  The 
voluntary  loss  of  time  (on  account  of  tardiness,  early  leaving,  and  per- 
sonal needs)  varied  from  1.4  per  cent  to  2.2  per  cent  of  the  time 
worked. 

WAIST  HEMMING. — Information  on  waist  hemming  was  obtained 
in  three  shops.  The  involuntary  loss  of  time  was,  as  usual,  the  lowest 
in  shop  No.  1110,  being  only  2.9  per  cent  of  the  time  worked.  The 
highest  loss  was  in  shop  No.  1284,  being  14.7  per  cent.  The  volun- 
tary loss  of  time  in  these  three  shops  varied  from  nothing  to  2.1  per 
cent  of  the  time  at  work. 

STRIP  HEMMING. — On  strip  hemming  information  was  obtained  for 
only  one  shop,  No.  1230,  showing  the  involuntary  loss  of  time  to  be  4.2 
per  cent  of  the  total  time  at  work. 

STRIP  TUCKING. — Information  is  presented  in  the  table  for  three 
shops  in  which  the  involuntary  loss  of  time  varied  from  3.6  per  cent 
to  4.8  per  cent  of  the  total  time  at  work.  The  voluntary  loss  in  these 
three  shops  varied  from  0.6  per  cent  to  2.3  per  cent  of  the  time  at 
work. 

SHORT  TUCKING. — Information  is  presented  for  four  shops,  covering 
a  total  of  31  persons.  The  total  involuntary  loss  varied  from  1.5  per 
cent  in  shop  No.  1090  to  36.8  per  cent  of  the  total  time  at  work  in 
shop  No.  1191.  The  time  lost  involuntarily  varied  in  these  four  shops 
from  nothing  to  3.7  per  cent  of  the  time  worked. 

BUTTONHOLE  MAKING. — These  data  are  available  for  four  shops 
using  the  Singer  machine  and  three  shops  using  the  Reece  machine. 

Taking  first  the  Singer  machine,  we  find  that  the  involuntary  loss 
constituted  34.8  per  cent  of  the  time  worked  in  shop  No.  1090,  9.4  per 
cent  in  shop  No.  1110,  2.2  per  cent  in  shop  No.  1116,  and  6.4  per  cent 
in  shop  No.  1235,  the  average  for  the  four  being  21.3  per  cent.  The 
chief  item  in  this  involuntary  loss  was  waiting  for  work,  which  was 
especially  large,  namely,  31.4  per  cent  of  the  time  spent  at  work,  in 


WAGES    AND    EMPLOYMENT    IN    DRESS    AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    289 

shop  No.  1090.  As  may  be  seen  from  section  6  relating  to  buttonhole 
making,  there  is  a  greater  variety  of  styles  of  waists  in  this  shop  than 
in  any  other  of  those  under  investigation,  and  the  work  is  given  in 
smaller  bundles  than  in  any  of  the  other  shops,  the  bundles  frequently 
consisting  of  only  a  few  waists.  This  accounts  for  the  great  loss 
incurred  in  waiting  for  work,  which  is  additional  to  the  loss,  to  both 
the  firm  and  the  employees,  shown  in  the  low  output  per  hour,  the 
output  being  less  than  in  any  of  the  other  shops  investigated. 

The.  involuntary  loss  of  time  on  the  Reece  machine  varied  from 
11.7  per  cent  in  shop  No.  1284  to  20.4  per  cent  in  shop  No.  1230,  the 
average  being  13.8  per  cent,  or  less  than  on  the  Singer  machine. 
This  is  due  not  to  the  relative  merits  of  the  two  machines,  but  to  the 
fact  that  the  Reece  machine  is  used  in  shops  making  $9-a-dozen 
garments.  In  these  shops  the  work  is  made  in  larger  quantities  than 
in  the  shops  making  medium-priced  waists,  and  there  is,  therefore, 
less  loss  of  time.  On  the  other  hand,  the  average  loss  of  time  on 
account  of  breakdown  of  machinery  was  4.4  per  cent  of  the  total 
time  at  work  on  the  Reece  machine,  while  on  the  Singer  machine  it 
was  only  1 J  per  cent.  This  is  due  to  the  more  complicated  character 
of  the  Reece  machine,  which,  therefore,  gets  more  easily  out  of  order. 

BUTTON  SEWING. — These  data  were  secured  in  three  shops,  of 
which  one,  No.  1116,  makes  *  medium-priced  waists.  The  total 
involuntary  loss  of  time  was  7.6  per  cent  of  the  time  spent  at  work  in 
shop  No.  1284,  12.3  per  cent  in  shop  No.  1230,  and  only  1.1  percent 
in  the  medium-priced  shop.  The  time  lost  in  waiting  for  work  was 
likewise  the  lowest  in  shop  No.  1116. 

TABLE  101.— LOSS  OF  TIME. 
A.  Body  making:  Singer  machine. 


Loss  of  time  for 

Per 

Loss   of  time    for    which   the 

which  the  em- 

Per 

cent 

employee  is  not  responsible 
(minutes). 

ployer  is  not  re- 
sponsible (min- 

Total time- 

cent 
in- 

time 
lost 

utes). 

on  ac- 

un 

count 

Shop  No.   and 
operator  No. 

of 
oper- 
ator. 

Wait- 
ing 
for 
work. 

Wait- 
mg 
for 
parts. 

Break- 
down 
of 
ma- 
chine. 

Re- 
ceiv- 
ing 
in- 
struc- 
tion. 

Total. 

Tar- 
di- 
ness 
and 
early 
leav- 
ing. 

Per- 
sonal 
needs. 

Re- 
pair- 
ing 
work. 

Work- 
ed 
(min- 
utes). 

Under 
obser- 
va- 
tion 
(min- 
utes). 

tary 
loss 
of 
time 
was 
of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

of 

break- 
down 
of  ma- 
chine 
was  of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

Shop  No.  12SO. 

Operator  117  l 

F 

35 

41 

9 

85 

23 

14 

1,881 

2,003 

4.5 

Operator  118 

F 

30 

25 

55 

43 

10 

1,160 

1,268 

4.7 

Operator  119 

F 

12 

5 

17 

50 

6 

1,284 

1,357 

1.3 

Operator  120.. 
Operator  122  1 
Operator  123  . 

F. 

F. 
F 

6 
10 
85 

6 
45 
29 

12 

6 
4 
6 

~"u 

1,189 
1,717 
1,215 

1,207 
1,802 
M7? 

1.0 

3.2 
11.4 



55 
139 

26 

25 

2.1 

Operator  124  l 

F 

47 

48 

10 

105 

125 

41 

3 

2,478 

2,752 

4.2 

F 

19 

19 

4 

599 

622 

3.2 

Operator  127.. 

F 

..... 

4 

30 

586 

620 

.7 

42132°— Bull.  146—14- 


JAnd  1  female  partner. 
-19 


290 


BULLETIN    OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  101.— LOSS  OF  TIME— Continued. 
A.  Body  making;  Singer  machine — Concluded. 


Shop  No.  and 
operator  No. 

Sex 
of 
oper- 
ator. 

Loss   of  time    for    which    the 
employee  is  not  responsible 
(minutes). 

Loss    of  time   for 
which  the  em- 
ployer is  not  re- 
sponsible (min- 
utes). 

Total  time  — 

Per 
cent 
in- 
vol- 
un- 
tary 
loss 
of 
time 
was 
of 
tim'e 
work- 
ed. 

Per 
cent 
time 
lost 
on  ac- 
count 
of 
break- 
down 
of  ma- 
chine 
was  of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

Wait- 
ing 
for 
work. 

Wait- 
ing 
for 
parts. 

Break- 
down 
of 
ma- 
chine. 

Re- 
ceiv- 
ing 
in- 
struc- 
tion. 

Total. 

Tar- 
di- 
ness 
and 
early 
leav- 
ing. 

Per- 
sonal 
needs. 

Re- 
pair- 
ing 
work. 

Work- 
ed 

(min- 
utes). 

Under 
obser- 
va- 
tion 
(min- 
utes). 

Shop  No.  1  ISO— 
Concluded. 

Operator  129 

F 

768 
1.537 
802 
1.388 
1,  223 
1,366 
1,446 
1,061 
970 
1,712 
1,113 
1,163 
1,689 
2,422 
997 
2,  751 
2,514 
1,320 
2,488 
2,  882 

768 
1,596 
1,055 
1,450 
1,250 
1,463 
1,489 
1,245 
1,040 
1,810 
1,204 
1,236 
1,851 
2,593 
1,050 
2,974 
2,584 
1,370 
2,  595 
3,076 

Operator  109... 
Operator  110... 
Opera  tor  111... 
Operator  104... 
Opera  tor  105... 
Operator  1061.. 
Opera  tor  102... 
Operator  103... 
Operator  114... 
Operator  100... 
Operator  115... 
Operator  116  2.. 
Operator  121  2  . 
Operator  125    . 

F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M 

"i93* 
31 
13 

38 
3 

7 
29 
28 
23 

""57" 

74 

34 
33 

8 

42 
226 
42 
13 
78 
3 
9 
54 
36 
78 

10 
27 
10 
5 
10 
25 
140 
10 
59 

7 



2.7 
28.2 
3.0 
1.1 
5.7 
.2 
.8 
5.6 
2.1 
7.0 
4.7 
4.7 
4.7 

0.5 

11 

10 
9 
9 
15 
28 
6 
3 



40 

7 



2 
25 

"".5 

8 

55 
55 

13 

55 
79 
115 

10 

8 
24 
39 
10 
20 
16 
17 
61 
73 

22 
21 

59 
17 
43 

""23" 

20 



Operator  128  2. 
Operator  112  1  . 
Operator  101... 
Operator  1131.. 
Operator  108  !.. 

Total 

M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 

66 
19 
15 
32 
47 

46 
5 
15 
9 
74 

30 

7 
3 

19 

161 
31 

42 

5.8 
1.2 
2.5 
1.6 
4.2 

1.1 

.3 
.2 

33 

41 
121 

5 

904 
2.1 

631 
1.4 

34 
41 
20 
23 
13 
17 
33 
42 
62 
27 
7 
13 

81 
0.2 

6 
3 

8 

92 
0.2 

1,708 
3.9 

654 
1.5 

—  •  -'~:.r~r 

442 
1.0 

--— 

179 
0.4 

43,  721 

46,  704 

Per  cent  of  time 
worked 

3.9 

.2 

.4 

.2 
.8 

Shop  No.  1232. 

Operator  141.... 
Operator  142.... 
Operator  144  
Operator  145  
Operator  147  3... 
Operator  148  
Operator  130  2  .. 
Operator  131  2  .. 
Operator  1321... 
Operator  133  2  .. 
Operator  134  2  .  . 
Operator  135  2  .. 
Operator  136  l 

1,426 
1,712 
996 
1,642 
2,625 
1,570 
2,765 
1,954 
3,073 
1,314 
932 
1,080 
243 
1,791 
1,451 
1,179 
746 
712 
1,966 
1,004 

F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M 

14 
28 
21 
41 
28 
10 
33 
40 
10 
3 
6 
12 

54 

15 
39 

7 

1,495 
1,868 
1,062 
1,721 
2,676 
1,610 
2,979 
2,155 
3,226 
1,412 
967 
1,113 
252 
1,965 
1,566 
1,229 
772 
730 
2,026 
1,115 

3.8 
4.2 
4.9 
3.9 
1.7 
1.9 
3.6 
5.9 
3.0 
2.6 
1.6 
2.4 
2.9 
2.7 
2.4 
1.4 
.4 
1.1 
2.8 
5.9 

72 
49 
64 
44 
30 
100 
116 
91 
34 
15 
26 

40 

10 
11 

4 
10 
28 
48 
5 
30 

5. 



4 

3 

3 

3 

29 
7 
2 

4 

.2 
1.0 
.4 
.1 
.3 

5 
27 
17 

28 
31 

57 
29 
20 

7 

60 
6 

"~5~ 

2 

1 

.1 

7 

7 
49 
35 
16 
3 
8 

2 
14 

"~5~ 
14 
4 
4 
13 

Operator  137  
Operator  138  
Operator  139  — 
Operator  140  
Operator  143  !... 
Operator  1461... 
Operator  149  

Total 

M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 

26 
14 
11 
3 
6 
26 
14 

23 
16 
3 

52 
56 
20 
4 

59 
24 
9 
5 
6 

.3 
.2 

""i.'s 

4.<J 

5 
2 



2 

4 
2 

26 
43 

56 



59 

39 

346 
1.1 

382 
1.3 

139 

0.5 

61 
0.2 

928 
3.1 

357 
1.2 

282 
0.9 

191 
0.6 

30,181 

31,939 

Per  cent  of  time 
worked 

3.1 

-5 

1  And  1  female  assistant. 


2  And  1  male  assistant. 


3  And  1  female  partner. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DEESS   AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.    291 


TABLE  101.— LOSS  OF  TIME— Continued. 
Standard  machine. 


Shop  No.  and 
operator  No. 

Sex 
of 
oper- 
ator. 

Loss    of    time    for   which   the 
employee  is  not  responsible 
(minutes). 

Loss  of  time  for 
which  the  em- 
ployer is  not  re- 
sponsible (min- 
utes). 

Total  time- 

Per 
cent 
in- 
vol- 
un- 
tary 
loss 
of 
time 
was 
of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

Per 

cent 
time 
lost 
on  ac- 
count 
of 
break- 
down 
of  ma- 
chine 
was  of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

Wait- 
ing 
for 
work. 

Wait- 
ing 
for 
parts. 

Break- 
down 
of 
ma- 
chine. 

Re- 
ceiv- 
ing 
in- 
struc- 
tion. 

Total. 

Tar- 
di- 
ness 
and 
early 
leav- 
ing. 

Per- 
sonal 
needs. 

Re- 
pair- 
ing 
work. 

Work- 
ed 
(min- 
utes). 

Under 
obser- 
va- 
tion 
(min- 
utes). 

Shop  No.  1284. 

Operator  150  
Operator  1531... 
Operator  154  
Opera  tor  156i... 
Operator  157  — 
Operator  158  
Operator  160  
Operator  161  
Operator  162  
Operator  163  
Operator  164.... 
Operator  165  2... 
Operator  172  
Operator  173  
Operator  1741... 
Operator  151i... 
Operator  152  3... 
Opera  tor  155  3... 
Opera  tor  159.... 
Operator  166  2... 
Operator  167i... 
Opera  tor  168i... 
Operator  1  69  3... 
Operator  17Qi... 
Operator  171  
Operator  175  

Total  

F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 

218 
138 
79 
50 
4 
8 
318 
16 
3 
12 
121 
9 
74 
24 
81 

'35 
3 
181 

30 
98 

7 

'"76" 
3 

218 

73 
2 

'"43" 
30 
28 

2,214 
3,162 
1,311 
4,166 
924 
1,120 
1,413 
1,631 
593 
753 
1,768 
2,193 
297 
512 
1,163 
2,110 
1,642 
2,515 
413 
1,700 
2,019 
2,747 
2,935 
2,528 
1,241 
1,487 

2,505 
3;  447 
1,453 
4,397 
945 
1,229 
1,842 
1,695 
696 
801 
2,012 
2,486 
447 
648 
1,419 
2,160 
1.753 
2,619 
606 
1,926 
2,104 
3,056 
3,072 
2,754 
1,470 
1,513 

9.8 
6.3 
7.0 
2.1 
2.3 
9.3 
27.7 
3.3 
9.8 
5.6 
13.2 
10.7 
33.7 
15.4 
11.5 
2.4 
3.9 
2.5 
45.8 
13.0 
3.3 
8.5 
3.8 
7.6 
14.3 
1.3 

60 
13 
39 
17 
96 
59 
34 
55 
27 
106 
226 
14 
55 
48 
50 
43 
27 
174 
40 
29 
126 
76 
191 
82 
16 

198 
92 
89 
21 

42 
20 
112 

2 

104 

5 

15 

4 

392 
54 

58 
42 

37 

7 
38 

3 

7 

""58" 

3 

0.4 

7 

234 

235 

10 

-4.-0 

12 

100 
79 
134 
50 

40 
50 
32 

10 

7 
23 

""67" 

5 

64 
62 
189 

36 
10 

11 

""32" 



12 

4 

2.9 

221 

67 
233 
112 
191 
177 
19 

37 
10 
15 
50 

5 
10 
23 
15 
13 
2 
2 

8 
9 
29 



"  i6~ 

""5 

.4 

.3 
1.0 

25 

1,603 
3.6 

1,703 
3.8 

73 

0.2 

56 
0.1 

3,435 

7.7 

544 
1.2 

227 
0.5 

292 
0.7 

44,557 

49,055 

Per  cent  of  time 
worked 

7.7 

.2 

And  1  female  assistant.  2  And  1  female  partner.  '  And  1  male  assistant. 

B.  Closing:   Union  Special  machine. 


Shop  No. 

Num- 
ber 
and 
sex 
of 
opera- 
tor. 

Loss  of  time  for  which  the  employee  is  not 
responsible. 

Loss  of  time  for  which 
the  employer  is  not 
responsible. 

Total  time. 

Waiting  for— 

Break- 
down 
of  ma- 
chine. 

Total. 

Tardi- 
ness and 
early 
leaving. 

Personal 
needs. 

Work- 
ed. 

Under 
obser- 
va- 
tion. 

Work. 

Parts. 

Min- 
utes. 

Per 

cent 
of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

Min- 
utes. 

Per 

cent 
of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

Min- 
utes. 

Per 

cent 
of 
tune 
work- 
ed. 

Min- 
utes. 

Per 
cent 
of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

Min- 
utes. 

Per 

cent 
of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

Min- 
utes. 

Per 
cent 
of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

Min- 
utes. 

Min- 
utes. 

M. 

F. 

1110 

1 

41 
240 
86 
30- 
163 

7.0 
7.0 
6.9 
1.3 
18.5 

11 

1.9 

52 
240 
86 
130 
163 

8.8 
7.0 

H 

i,5 

5 

0.9 

588 
3,434 
1,255 
2,334 

882 

645 
3,674 
1,373 
2,491 
1,045 

1191 

? 

1232 

1 
2 

12 
15 

i.6 

.6 

20 
12 

1.6 

.5 

1284 

1 
1 

9 

0.4 

91 

3.9 

1230  

292 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


TABLE  101.— LOSS  OF  TIME— Concluded. 
C.  Sleeve  setting:    Union  Special  machine. 


£hop  No. 

Num- 
ber 
and 
sex 
of 
opera- 
tors. 

Loss  of  time  for  which  the  employee  is  not 
responsible. 

Loss  of  time  for  which 
the  employer  is  not 
responsible. 

Total  time. 

Waiting  for  — 

Break- 
down 
of  ma- 
chine. 

Total. 

Tardi- 
ness and 
early 
leaving. 

Personal 
needs. 

Work- 
ed. 

Under 
obser- 
va- 
tion. 

Work. 

Parts. 

Min- 
utes. 

Per 

cent 
of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

Min- 
utes. 

Per 

cent 
of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

Min- 
utes. 

Per 

cent 
of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

Min- 
utes. 

Per 
cent 
of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

Min- 
utes. 

Per 

cent 
of 
time 
work  - 
ed. 

Min- 
utes. 

Per 
cent 
of 
time 
work- 
ed. 

Min- 
utes. 

Min- 
utes. 

M. 

F. 

1284... 
1191 

1 
1 

1 

J 

157 

182 

18.2 
5.6 

25 

2.9 

48 
20 

5.6 
.6 

230 
202 

26.7 
6.2 

5 
45 

0.6 
1.4 

14 

1.6 

861 
3,279 

1.110 
3,526 

1284... 
1191 

1 

1 

1 

J 

157 

182 

18.2 
5.6 

25 

2.9 

48 
20 

5.6 
.6 

230 
202 

26.7 
6.2 

5 
45 

0.6 
1.4 

14 

1.6 

861 
3,279 

1,110 
3,526 

D.  Waist  hemming:  Shop  No.  1110,  Union  Special  machine;  other  shops,  Singer  machine. 

1110 

1 

5 
42 
89 

1.5 
4.7 
13.3 

5 

1.5 

10 
42 
98 

2.9 
4.7 
14.7 

2 

0.6 

341 
894 
668 

353 
936 

785 

1191 

1 

1284.. 

1 

9 

1.3 

14 

2.1 

5 

.  7 

E.  Strip  hemming:  Singer  machine. 

1230 

1 

44 

4.2 

44 

4.2 

1,036 

1,080 

F.  Strip  tucking:  Singer  and  Wilcox  &  Gibbs  machines. 

1230 

* 

1 

323 
60 
140 

2.8 
1.8 
3.6 

120 
99 

1.1 
3.0 

443 

159 
140 

3.9 

4.8 
3.6 

32 

0.3 

65 
19 

0.6 
.6 

11,416 
3,280 
3,867 

11,956 
3,458 
4,095 

1284.. 

1090 

88 

2.3 

G.  Short  tucking:  Singer  and  Wilcox  <&  Gibbs  machines. 

1191.. 

3 

3 

10  3,  443 
2     173 
7     180 
33,  882 

36.8 
2.0 
1.4 
29.5 

3,443 
299 
U84 

3,882 

36.8 
3.5 
1.5 

29.5 

9,357 
8,616 
12,  667 
13,  163 

12,800 
9,048 
13,319 
17,255 

1230  

126 

1.5 

87 
363 
210 

l.Ol      46 
2.  9     105 
1.6... 

0.5 

.8 

1090.. 

1116... 

3 

H.  Buttonhole  making:  Singer  machine. 


1090 

4 

2,269 
70 
64 
44 

31.4 
7.2 
2.2 
2.2 

37 

0.5 

124 

22 

1.7 
2.3 

22,508 
92 
64 
3127 

34.8 
9.4 
2.2 
6.4 

206 

2.8 

15 

7 

0.2 

.7 

7,237 
974 
2,964 
2,000 

9,976 
1,073 
3,028 
«  2,  139 

1110 

a 

1116 

i 

1235  

2 
6 

31 

1.6 

47 

2.4 

Total. 

8 

' 

2,447 

18.6 

68         .5 

193 

1.5 

s  2,791 

21.3 

206 

1.6 

22J        .2 

13,  175 

*  16,216 

I.  Buttonhole  making:  Reece  machine. 


1230 

1 

62'    13.  6 

21 

46 

83 

20  4 

456 

549 

1235.  

1 

10       6.3 

9 

5.6 

19 

11.9 

5 

3.1 

160 

184 

1284  

2 

93       7.  4 

53 

4.2 

146 

11.7 

27 

2.2 

17 

1.4 

1,250 

1,440 

Total. 

2 

2 

165J      8.  9 



83 

4.4 

248 

13.8 

32 

1.7 

17 

.9 

1,866 

2,173 

K.  Button  sewing:   Union  Special  machine. 


1284... 

1 

57 

6.1 

14 

1.5 

71 

7  6 

! 

20 

2  1 

931 

1  022 

1116..  . 

1 

24 

1.1 

24 

1  i 

j 

2  216 

2  240 

1230  

1 

90 

9.5 

27 

2.8 

117 

12.3 

| 

951 

1,068 

1 

1  4  minutes  getting  instruction. 

2  78  minutes  getting  instruction. 

3  5  minutes  getting  instruction. 


4 12  minutes  repairing  work. 
&  83  minutes  getting  instruction. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DKESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    293 

CONCLUSION. 

The  figures  presented  in  Part  II  of  this  report  show  that  in  spite  of 
the  great  variation  in  the  productive  capacity  of  the  individual 
workers  in  different  shops  and  even  in  the  same  shops,  the  differences 
between  the  shops  as  a  whole  are  sufficiently  small  on  a  large  number 
of  operations  to  allow  of  the  establishment  of  standard  rates  for  all 
the  shops  of  a  certain  class.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  operations, 
outside  of  body  making,  the  figures  presented  here  relate  exclusively 
to  shops  manufacturing  cheap  waists  selling  at  $9  per  dozen  to  retail 
stores.  In  so  far  as  the  figures  for  the  same  operations  differ  radi- 
cally for  various  shops,  they  can  be  traced  to  distinct  causes,  due 
chiefly  to  differences  in  systems  of  management  and  organization  of 
the  work.  While  the  variation  is  not  sufficiently  great  in  the  $9 
shops  to  prevent  standardization  of  piece  rates  in  that  branch  of  the 
industry,  the  wide  differences  in  the  systems  of  factory  management 
and  in  the  conditions  under  which  the  operators  are  obliged  to  work 
in  different  shops,  make  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  devise  a  scheme 
of  uniform  piece  rates  to  be  paid  in  all  shops  manufacturing  garments 
of  a  higher  grade.  A  scale  of  rates  paid  in  shops  in  which  efficiency  is 
the  keynote,  in  which  the  operator  is  able  to  work  steadily  through 
the  day  without  waste  of  time,  with  up-to-date  machinery  and 
appliances,  and  amid  sanitary  surroundings,  may  be  fully  adequate 
to  enable  the  workers  to  earn  good  wages  in  that  shop.  The  same 
schedule  of  piece  rates  may  prove  totally  inadequate  for  operators 
of  equal  skill  working  in  a  shop  where  lack  of  system  on  the  part  of 
the  management  results  in  frequent  interruptions  and  stoppages  of 
work;  because  the  operator  constantly  misses  necessary  parts  of  gar- 
ments which  should  be  supplied  to  him  at  the  time  he  gets  his  "bun- 
dle7' ;  because  the  cutting  is  done  poorly,  causing  the  operator  to  stop 
in  his  work  to  make  the  different  parts  fit  or  to  take  the  parts  to  the 
cutter  to  have  them  trimmed  down;  because  the  force  in  different 
departments  is  not  properly  balanced,  thereby  causing  partial  or  total 
stoppage  of  work  in  one  department,  while  another  department  is 
behind  with  its  work  and  unable  to  furnish  the  parts  needed  in  the 
first  department;  because  work  is  furnished  to  the  operators  in  small 
bundles,  which  results  in  more  handling  of  the  garments  and  more 
frequent  interruptions  in  passing  from  one  operation  to  another  than  is 
the  case  in  the  first  shop  where  larger  bundles  are  the  rule;  because 
it  is  the  practice  in  the  shop  to  start  the  operator  on  a  new  bundle 
before  he  is  through  with  the  one  he  has  on  hand  and  to  follow  this 
up  with  a  third  and  a  fourth  bundle  before  any  of  these  is  completed, 
so  that  the  work  on  each  of  these  has  to  be  interrupted  as  the  missing 
parts  for  the  different  bundles  turn  up  or  as  the  demands  of  the 
customers  call  for  the  earlier  completion  of  one  or  the  other  of  the 
bundles;  because  the  machinery  is  old  or  in  poor  condition  and  breaks 


294  BULLETIN  OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   LABOE   STATISTICS. 

down  frequently,  causing  stoppage  of  work,  as  well  as  producing  less 
while  working;  because  little  or  no  instruction  is  given  to  operators 
to  secure  uniformity  in  methods  of  work,  resulting  in  great  waste  of 
time  on  the  part  of  the  less  experienced  workers,  to  the  detriment 
of  the  firm  and  employees  alike.  These  are  a  few  of  the  conditions 
which  determine  the  relative  efficiency  of  different  shops.  This 
explains  why  in  many  cases  the  output  per  hour  in  different  factories 
(as  c.  g.,  in  buttonhole  making)  has  been  found  to  differ  100  per  cent 
and  even  more.  It  is  therefore  clear  that  no  successful  attempt  can 
be  made  to  bring  about  uniform  rates  throughout  the  industry  without 
first  establishing  greater  uniformity  in  factory  management  and 
the  system  under  which  operators  are  required  to  work. 

It  would  be  an  utterly  hopeless  task,  however,  to  undertake  to 
bring  about  absolutely  uniform  methods  of  factoiy  management. 
The  great  difference  in  the  size  of  the  factories,  employing,  as  has 
been  shown  in  the  first  part  of  this  report,  anywhere  from  less  than 
25  to  more  than  500  workers  each,  calls  necessarily  for  different  sys- 
tems of  work  distribution  and,  to  some  extent,  of  division  of  labor; 
the  difference  in  their  financial  resources  will  enable  the  larger  manu- 
facturers, making  the  same  kind  of  goods,  to  use  superior  machinery, 
cut  larger  bundles,  employ  instructors,  and  do  a  great  many  other 
things  to  cheapen  production  which  would  be  beyond  the  means  of 
the  smaller  manufacturer  working  with  insufficient  capital.  A  great 
many  things,  however,  can  be  standardized  and  adopted  throughout 
the  industry  irrespective  of  the  size  of  the  resources  of  the  individual 
firms.  But  to  accomplish  this  in  an  industry  having  more  than 
700  firms  working  in  keen  competition  with  one  another  and 
therefore  each  jealous  of  its  own  real  or  fancied  secrets  of  business  or 
of  factory  management  and  extremely  reluctant  to  throw  their  shops 
open  to  investigation  by  representatives  of  an  organization  of  which 
they  are  a  part,  would  take  years  of  patient  and  persistent  effort. 

But  while  it  is  impracticable  to  undertake  the  introduction  of 
uniform  methods  of  factory  management,  it  does  not  follow  necessarily 
that  the  standardization  of  piece  rates  is  impossible.  What  may  be 
done,  is  to  standardize  conditions  under  which  certain  piece  rates 
are  to  apply.  The  piece  rates  may  be  the  result  of  a  series  of  tests 
made  in  a  number  of  shops  with  several  workers  of  more  or  less 
average  speed  under  conditions  to  be  carefully  noted,  and  as  nearly 
as  possible  like  those  which  can  reasonably  be  expected  to  prevail  in 
an  ordinary  well-managed  shop.  The  tests  could  be  of  two  kinds: 
(1)  For  the  purpose  of  standardizing  separate  operations;  (2)  for 
establishing  piece  rates  on  standard  garments. 

As  to  the  first,  the  proposed  investigation  for  standardization  of 
operations  would  not  differ  in  its  aims  and  its  ultimate  form  from 
the  results  presented  in  this  report,  so  far  as  positive  results  have 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DEESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    295 

been  obtained.  The  difference  would  be  in  the  methods  to  be  pursued. 
Instead  of  timing  hundreds  of  workers  on  thousands  of  dozens  of 
garments  under  conditions  as  they  happen  to  be  found  in  the  shops, 
the  method  would  consist  in  selecting  a  comparatively  limited  number 
of  skilled  operators,  say  a  dozen,  of  a  fairly  average  speed,  and  timing 
each  of  these  operators  on  hundreds  if  not  thousands  of  operations 
under  various  conditions,  but  never  varying  more  than  one  condition 
at  a  time,  so  as  to  be  able  clearly  to  trace  cause  and  effect.  An 
illustration  will  make  the  meaning  clear :  In  discussing  the  figures  for 
tucking,  it  has  been  shown  in  this  report  that  the  output  per  hour 
will  vary  with  (1)  the  width  of  the  tuck;  (2)  the  length  of  the  tuck; 
(3)  the  number  of  stitches  per  inch;  (4)  the  presence  or  absence  of 
tucks  of  more  than  one  width;  (5)  whether  the  tucks  are  arranged  in 
clusters  or  not;  (6)  whether  the  distances  between  the  tucks  and  the 
clusters  are  uniform  or  not;  (7)  whether  all  the  tucks  run  the  full 
length  of  the  waist;  (8)  and  if  they  do  not,  whether  they  are  of 
uniform  or  varying  length;  (9)  and  if  of  varying  length,  how  many 
different  lengths  there  are;  (10)  on  the  number  of  tucks  to  the  waist; 
(11)  the  number  of  waists  to  the  bundle;  (12)  the  material  of  which 
the  garment  is  made;  (13)  the  make  of  the  machine  on  which  the 
work  is  done;  (14)  whether  the  tucks  are  made  free-hand  or  with 
a  gauge,  etc. 

On  account  of  the  conditions  under  which  the  present  investiga- 
tion was  carried  on  we  were  forced  to  time  the  operator  while  working 
in  the  regular  performance  of  his  or  her  duties  on  such  work  as  hap- 
pened to  be  done  at  the  time  at  the  particular  factory.  The  result 
was  that  when  the  same  operator  was  found  to  vary  anywhere  from 
10  to  100  per  cent  in  his  output  on  the  same  operation,  it  has  rarely, 
if  ever,  been  possible  to  place  the  finger  on  any  one  cause.  The 
second  job  might  differ  from  the  first  not  only  in  the  size  of  the  bundle, 
but  also  in  the  number  of  tucks  to  the  waist,  in  their  arrangement, 
width,  and  in  three  or  four  other  points.  For  this  reason  it  has 
proved  impossible  to  submit,  with  the  present  report,  a  basis  for  a 
scale  of  rates  except  on  a  more  or  less  average  basis  taking  in  a 
wide  variety  of  conditions  for  each  of  which  there  ought  to  be  a  sepa- 
rate rate.  The  proposed  method  would  require  putting  each  operator 
selected  for  the  test  to  work  on  a  certain  style  of  tucks  and  then 
varying  one  condition  at  a  time  to  ascertain  how  the  output  would 
differ  with  each  change.  Such  a  method  would  require  the  testing 
of  each  operator  for  at  least  a  week  on  tucking  alone. 

In  view  of  the  great  number  of  operations  and  especially  the 
almost  endless  variation  in  the  combination  of  different  conditions 
affecting  the  output  for  each  operation,  as  illustrated  above  in  the 
case  of  tucking,  it  would  probably  take  not  less  than  two  years  to 
work  out  a  scale  of  piece  rates  which  would  cover  the  most  common 
requirements  of  shops  manufacturing  staple  lines  of  garments. 


296  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   LABOK   STATISTICS. 

A  schedule  of  this  kind  in  prescribing  a  rate  for  any  operation  would 
specify  the  conditions  under  which  it  was  to  be  applied.  If  the 
standard  size  of  bundle  were,  say,  2J  dozen  waists,  and  a  shop  fur- 
nished work  to  its  operators  in  bundles  of  1  dozen  or  5  dozen,  the  rate 
would  have  to  be  adjusted  by  the  wage-scale  board  in  each  case  unless 
the  schedule  provided  a  sliding  scale  for  the  automatic  adjustment  of 
the  rate  under  specified  conditions.  In  this  manner  without  at- 
tempting to  tell  each  manufacturer  how  he  is  to  run  his  factory,  an 
inducement  would  be  created  for  each  manufacturer  in  the  trade 
to  bring  the  conditions  of  work  in  his  shop  as  nearly  as  possible  in 
accord  with  the  standards  laid  down  in  the  schedule  so  that  he  could 
get  the  benefit  of  rates  allowed  in  shops  in  which  standard  conditions 
prevailed. 

As  stated,  the  complete  working  out  of  such  a  scale  of  piece  rates 
would  be  a  matter  of  years.  Much  as  it  may  seem  desirable  to  under- 
take the  task  for  an  industry  like  this,  which  is  here  to  stay,  it  is  con- 
fronted with  the  necessity  of  meeting  immediately  the  pressing  prob- 
lems of  piece-rate  adjustment  which  claim  the  attention  of  the  wage- 
scale  board  from  day  to  day  as  disputes  arise  between  individual 
manufacturers  and  their  employees  as  to  what  is  a  proper  rate  for  a 
given  garment.  It  is  with  this  in  mind  that  the  second  series  of 
tests  has  been  suggested  above,  viz,  the  establishment  of  piece  rates 
on  standard  garments.  i 

Apart  from  the  short-comings  of  the  present  test  system,  pointed 
out  in  the  introductory  chapter  to  this  part  of  the  report,  the  chief 
objection  to  it,  raised  both  by  the  employers  and  the  union,  is  that 
it  fails  to  bring  about  uniformity  of  piece  rates  for  the  same  class 
of  work  in  different  shops.  Manufacturers  who  believe  that  they  are 
paying,  or  that  they  are  called  upon  to  pay,  higher  rates  than  some 
of  their  competitors  refuse  to  accede  to  the  demands  of  their  em- 
ployees, while  the  union  on  its  part  claims  that  certain  manufacturers 
are  taking  advantage  of  the  presence  of  a  large  proportion  of  non- 
union workers  in  their  shops,  or  of  the  ignorance  of  their  employees 
to  pay  lower  rates  than  their  competitors.  To  overcome  this  diffi- 
culty a  committee  of  the  wage-scale  board  has  had  under  consideration 
a  proposed  modification  of  the -present  test  system  which  promises 
to  bring  about  greater  uniformity  in  rates  paid  in  different  shops 
for  similar  garments.  The  chief  features  of  the  proposed  scheme 
are  (1)  the  creation  of  a  set  of  standard  garments;  (2)  the  selection 
of  a  number  of  typical  shops  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  standard 
garments ;  (3)  the  determination  of  the  hourly  rate  of  the  test  workers 
by  means  of  standard  rates  adopted  for  the  standard  garments. 

1.  It  is  proposed  to  make  up  a  set  of  standard  garments  embody-' 
ing  all  the  operations  which  are  required  in  making  garments  cur- 
rently in  style. 


WAGES   AND    EMPLOYMENT   IN    DEESS    AND    WAIST   INDUSTRY.    297 

2.  The  wage-scale  board  is  to  select  a  number  of  leading  shops,  typi- 
cal of  the  industry,  in  each  of  which  two  or  more  experienced  workers  of 
about  average  speed  are  to  be  selected  as  test  operators  by  both  sides 
in  the  same  manner  as  it  is  done  at  present.     These  workers  are  to 
make  up  the  standard  garments  from  the  samples  furnished  them, 
and  the  average  time  taken  by  all  the  test  operators  in  all  of  the 
shops  selected,  multiplied  by  a  rate  agreed  upon  for  these  workers,  is 
to  constitute  the  standard  piece  rate  for  each  of  the  standard  gar- 
ments, and  is  to  be  used  as  a  common  basis  in  all  the  other  shops  in 
the  industry  in  determining  rates  on  new  garments. 

3.  Whenever  a  new  garment  is  to  be  tested  in  a  shop,  it  is  to  be  done 
under  practically  the  same  conditions  as  at  present,  except  that  the 
hourly  rate  of  the  test  worker  is  to  be  determined  in  a  different  way. 
Under  the  present  system  the  hourly  rate  of  the  test  worker  is  ascer- 
tained by  averaging  up  the  weekly  earnings  of  that  worker  for  a 
number  of  weeks  as  shown  on  the  pay  roll,  and  dividing  the  amount 
by  50,  which  constitutes  the  normal  working  hours  for  a  week.    This 
is  open  to  two  objections:  The  first,  on  the  part  of  the  workers,  that 
the  pay  roll  does  not  show  the  number  of  hours  actually  put  in  by 
the  worker.     It  is  well  known  that  at  times  some  workers  may  be 
idle  for  a  great  many  hours  during  the  week  on  account  of  lack  of 
work  or  other  causes,  and  the  10  per  cent  allowance  for  loss  of  time 
which  is  usually  made  in  these  cases  is  not  considered  by  the  union 
as  meeting  this  objection.     It  is,  therefore,  claimed  by  the  union  that 
the  hourly  rate,  as  thus  determined,  is  below   the  actual  earning 
capacity  of  the  worker,  which  could   be  demonstrated  if  she  were 
given  an  opportunity  to  work  in  the  same  manner  as  she  is  during 
the  test  on  a  new  garment,  when  only  the  time  she  is  actually   at 
work  is  considered  in  determining  the  time  it  takes  her  to  make  the 
new  garment. 

The  second  objection  to  which  this  method  is  open  is  raised  both 
by  the  manufacturers  and  the  union,  and  is  to  the  effect  that  it  does 
not  secure  a  uniform  hourly  rate  for  workers  of  the  same  skill  in 
different  shops,  since  it  tends  to  perpetuate  the  differences  in  the 
methods  of  compensation  prevailing  in  these  shops. 

The  proposed  method  aims  to  do  away  with  these  shortcomings 
and  to  reduce  the  determination  of  the  hourly  rate  of  the  test  workers 
to  a  uniform  basis  in  the  following  manner: 

To  determine  the  hourly  rate  of  the  test  worker,  she  is  to  be  given 
one  or  more  samples  of  standard  garments  suitable  to  the  production 
of  the  shop  in  which  she  is  working,  and  on  which  she  is  to  be  tested, 
in  the  same  manner  as  she  is  tested  on  the  new  garment.  That  is  to 
say,  if  it  is  decided  that  in  testing  a  new  garment  she  is  to  make  half 
a  dozen  for  a  test,  then  in  determining  her  hourly  rate  she  is  likewise 
to  make  half  a  dozen  of  the  standard  garment;  if  she  is  given  only 


298  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   LABOR'  STATISTICS. 

one  or  two  garments  to  make  in  testing  the  new  garment,  then  this 
should  be  the  number  in  testing  the  standard  garment  for  determining 
her  hourly  rate.  The  time  taken  to  make  these  garments  would 
determine  the  hourly  rate  of  each  test  worker.  To  illustrate:  If  the 
rate  for  a  certain  standard  garment  were  '  $1,  and  it  took  the  test 
worker  three  hours  to  make  it,  the  hourly  rate  of  that  operator 
would  be  33  cents  per  hour.  If  an  operator  selected  for  a  test  in 
another  shop  makes  the  same  garment  in  two  hours,  her  rate  would 
be  50  cents  per  hour.  In  this  way,  the  rates  of  the  different  test 
operators  would  continue  to  differ,  as  they  do  at  present,  according 
to  their  individual  skill  and  speed,  as  well  as  according  to  the  methods 
of  manufacturing  prevailing  in  the  different  shops;  but  they  will  all 
be  based  on  uniform  rates  for  standard  garments  which  would  apply 
to  all  shops.  The  method  holds  out  the  promise  of  a  fair  degree  of 
uniformity  of  rates  for  similar  garments  in  different  shops  while 
leaving  each  shop  free  to  follow  its  own  way  of  making  the  garments. 
While  it  would  not  secure  absolute  uniformity  on  account  of  many 
technical  difficulties  which  would  beset  the  carrying  out  of  this  plan, 
yet  it  would  mean  the  taking  of  a  long  stride  toward  such  uniformity 
and  would  put  the  industry  in  a  position  to  wait  for  a  more  detailed 
adjustment  of  piece  rates  for  separate  operations  as  outlined  above. 


APPENDIX  A. 


PROTOCOL  OF  PEACE  IN  THE  DRESS  AND  WAIST  INDUSTRY. 

PROTOCOL  OP  PEACE  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry  entered  into  this  18th  day  of 
January,  1913,  between  the  International  Ladies'  Garment  Workers'  Union  (herein- 
after called  the  union)  and  the  Dress  and  Waist  Manufacturers'  Association  (herein- 
after called  the  association). 

Both  parties  to  this  protocol  are  desirous  of  raising  conditions  in  the  industry,  and 
obtaining  the  equalization  of  standards  of  labor  throughout  the  industry  by  peaceful 
and  honorable  methods.  They  recognize  the  value,  to  accomplish  this  end,  of  an 
organization  representing  the  workers  in  the  industry,  and  of  an  organization  repre- 
senting the  employers.  They  recognize  also  the  value  of  an  understanding  or  agree- 
ment between  them  capable  of  revision  from  time  to  time,  with  adequate  machinery 
and  institutions  to  enforce  and  carry  out  the  principles  of  the  understanding. 

I.    SANITARY   CONDITIONS. 

Both  parties  agree  to  create  a  joint  board  of  sanitary  control  in  all  jurisdictional 
respects  similar  to  the  joint  board  of  sanitary  control  now  existing  in  the  cloak  industry, 
two  members  thereof  to  be  chosen  by  the  manufacturers,  two  by  the  union,  and  three 
to  represent  the  public — the  three  representatives  of  the  public  now  upon  the  board 
in  the  cloak  industry.  Said  board  is  empowered  to  establish  standards  of  sanitary 
conditions  to  which  the  manufacturers'  association  and  the  union  shall  be  committed, 
and  the  manufacturers  and  the  union  obligate  themselves  to  maintain  such  standards 
to  the  best  of  their  ability  and  to  the  full  extent  of  their  power.  The  standards  of  such 
board,  to  begin  with,  shall  be  at  least  as  high  &s  the  standards  now  existing  in  the 
cloak  industry. 

II.  THE    WHITE    PROTOCOL   LABEL. 

To  make  more  effective  the  maintenance  of  sanitary  conditions  throughout  the 
industry,  to  insure  equality  of  minimum  standards  throughout  the  industry,  and  to 
guarantee  to  the  public  garments  made  in  the  shops  certificated  by  the  board  of 
sanitary  control,  the  parties  agree  that  there  shall  be  instituted  in  the  industry  a  system 
of  certificating  garments  by  a  label  to  be  affixed  to  the  garment.  Recognizing  the 
difficulties  of  working  out  the  details  of  such  a  plan  at  this  time,  but  believing  that  the 
plan  has  been  sufficiently  developed  and  considered  in  the  cloak  industry,  they 
believe  that  a  complete  plan  can  be  worked  out  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry  within 
a  year.  To  this  end  each  party  agrees  to  cooperate  to  the  full  extent  of  its  power  in 
the  formulation  and  effectuation  of  a  system  for  the  certification  of  garments  adequately 
safeguarding  the  employers,  the  workers,  and  the  consuming  public. 

An  additional  increase  of  10  per  cent  (approximately)  shall  be  granted  in  all  wages 
as  soon  as  the  system  of  certificating  garments  to  the  consumer  herein  referred  to  shall 
have  been  in  operation  for  one  year. 

III.  ADJUSTMENT    OF    GRIEVANCES. 

Both  parties  recognize  the  necessity  for  providing  modern  and  peaceful  methods 
for  adjusting  disputes  and  grievances  that  arise.  The  system  and  method  for  adjust- 
ing disputes  and  determining  controversies  in  the  cloak  industry  having  proved 
successful,  they  agree  that  there  shall  be  created  in  the  dress  and  waist  industry  a 
board  of  grievances  to  consist  of  10  members — 5  chosen  by  the  manufacturers  and  5 
by  the  union — with  the  rules,  regulations,  and  precedents  now  governing  the  board 
of  grievances  in  the  cloak  industry  so  far  as  they  are  practically  applicable  in  the  dress 
and  waist  industry. 

299 


300  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   LABOK   STATISTICS. 

IV.    CONFERENCES. 

The  board  of  grievances  shall  also  be  the  continuous  conference  body  to  which 
shall  be  brought  all  problems  and  all  plans  for  improvement  in  the  industry,  which 
both  parties  are  to  consider. 

V.    PERMANENT   PEACE. 

The  parties  to  this  protocol  agree  that  there  shall  be  no  strike  or  lockout  concerning 
any  matters  in  controversy  or  any  disagreement  until  full  opportunity  shall  have  been 
given  for  the  submission  of  such  matters  to  the  board  of  grievances  and  to  the  board 
of  arbitration  created  hereunder,  and  in  the  event  of  a  determination  of  such  contro- 
versy or  difference  by  said  board  of  arbitration  only  in  case  of  failure  to  accede  to  the 
determination  of  said  board  of  arbitration. 

The  parties  hereby  establish  a  board  of  arbitration  to  consist  of  three  members, 
composed  of  one  nominee  for  the  manufacturers,  one  nominee  for  the  union,  and  one 
representative  of  the  public,  the  latter  to  be  agreed  upon  by  both  parties  to  this 
protocol,  or  in  the  event  of  their  disagreement,  by  the  two  arbitrators  selected  by  them. 

Until  otherwise  determined,  the  gentlemen  constituting  the  board  of  arbitration  in 
the  cloak  industry  shall  constitute  the  board  of  arbitration  in  this  industry. 

VI.    TENTATIVE    SCHEDULES. 

The  parties  agree  that  the  industry  is  very  large,  and  the  conditions  complicated; 
that  there  are  many  types  of  shops  and  that  the  earnings  of  the  employees  in  the  shops 
vary  widely  in  scale;  and  further  frankly  admit  that  they  are  not  now  in  full  possession 
of  the  facts  as  to  present  conditions  in  the  industry.  The  provisions  in  this  agreement 
or  protocol  relating  to  schedules  of  wages  or  other  standards  of  labor  are  therefore 
tentative,  and  no  final  determination  of  these  matters  shall  be  made  until  after  a 
complete  investigation  of  conditions  as  hereinafter  provided  for  and  the  board  of 
grievances  shall  have  had  opportunity  to  pass  thereon,  and  in  the  event  of  the  failure 
of  the  members  of  such  board  to  agree  then  until  the  final  determination  by  the  board 
of  arbitration  in  the  manner  herein  provided. 

VII.    WAGE-SCALE    BOARD. 

The  parties  hereby  establish  a  wage-scale  board  to  consist  of  eight  members — four  to 
be  nominated  by  the  manufacturers  and  four  by  the  union.  Such  board  shall  stand- 
ardize the  prices  to  be  paid  for  piece  and  week  work  throughout  the  industry;  it  shall 
preserve  data  and  statistics  with  a  view  to  establishing,  as  nearly  practicable  as  pos- 
sible, a  scientific  basis  for  the  fixing  of  piece  and  week  work  prices  throughout  the 
industry  that  will  insure  a  minimum  wage,  and  at  the  same  time  permit  reward  for 
increased  efficiency.  It  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  to  appoint  clerka  or 
representatives  expert  in  the  art  of  fixing  prices,  and  its  procedure,  so  far  as  practicable, 
shall  be  the  same  as  now  followed  by  the  board  of  grievances  in  the  cloak  industry.  It 
shall  have  full  power  and  authority  to  settle  all  disputes  over  prices,  make  special 
exemptions  for  week  work  where  special  exigencies  arise,  or  a  special  scale  is  required. 

VIII.    IMMEDIATE    INVESTIGATION. 

Immediately  after  the  signing  of  this  protocol  the  wage-scale  board  shall,  at  the 
expense  of  both  parties,  make  a  complete  and  exhaustive  examination  into  the  existing 
rates  paid  for  labor,  the  earnings  of  the  operatives,  and  the  classification  of  garments 
in  the  industry,  and  shall  report  in  writing  within  six  months  from  the  date  hereof  the 
result  of  its  labors.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  grievances  thereafter  immedi- 
ately to  convene  and  to  act  upon  said  report,  and,  based  upon  such  report,  said  board  of 
grievances  shall  establish  a  rate  or  rates  per  hour  for  the  adjustment  of  piece  prices  and 
to  readjust  any  of  the  schedules  tentatively  agreed  upon  in  the  schedule  hereto  annexed. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND    WAIST   INDUSTHY.    301 


IX.    TENTATIVE    STANDARDS    OF   LABOR. 

The  parties  agree  upon  the  standards  of  labor  and  wages  set  forth  in  schedule  A, 
subject  to  revision  by  the  grievance  board  in  the  light  of  experience,  and  after  full 
investigation  of  the  facts  as  provided  in  Article  VI. 

Where  higher  standards  now  exist  they  shall  in  no  case  be  lowered. 

X.    ADJUSTMENT    OF   PIECE    PRICES. 

The  following  method  for  determining  piece  prices  for  operators  is  adopted: 
(a)  There  shall  be  in  each  shop  a  piece-price  committee  selected  by  the  workers. 
(6)  In  the  first  instance,  piece  prices  shall  be  settled  by  the  employer  and  the  piece- 
price  committee. 

(c)  In  settling  prices   the  price  per  garment  shall  be  based  upon  the  estimated 
number  of  solid  hours  it  will  take  an  experienced  good  worker  to  make  the  garment 
without  interruption,  multiplied  by  the  standard  price  per  hour. 

(d)  If  the  piece-price  committee  and  the  employer  shall  be  unable  to  agree  after  a 
conference,  the  work  shall  then  be  proceeded  with,  but  the  determination  of  the  price 
to  be  paid  for  the  work  shall  be  made  as  follows: 

(e)  One  or  more  workers  shall  be  selected  to  make  the  test  for  the  purpose  of  deter- 
mining the  number  of  solid  hours  it  will  take  an  experienced  good  worker  to  make 
the  garment  in  question. 

(/)  Both  the  employer  and  the  piece-price  committee  shall  agree  upon  the  operative 
who  is  to  make  the  test,  but  in  case  they  shall  fail  to  agree,  the  wage-scale  board  shall 
make  such  designation. 

Pending  the  determination  of  standard  prices  per  hour  by  the  wage-scale  board, 
operators  shall  receive  the  following  temporary  increases: 

In  all  shops  where  the  standard  per  hour  is  now  less  than  28  cents,  there  shall  be  an 
increase  of  at  least  15  per  cent. 

In  all  shops  where  the  standard  per  hour  is  less  than  30  cents  and  more  than  28  cents, 
there  shall  be  an  increase  of  at  least  10  per  cent. 

In  all  shops  where  the  standard  per  hour  is  now  31  cents  or  32  cents,  the  standard 
shall  be  advanced  to  33  cents.  In  no  shop  shall  the  standard  rate  per  hour  be  less 
than  30  cents,  and  where  the  rate  is  now  33  cents  or  more,  the  present  standard  rate 
shall  in  no  case  be  reduced. 

In  case  of  any  dispute  or  controversy  in  any  shop  as  to  what  is  the  standard  per 
hour  now  paid,  such  dispute  or  controversy  shall  be  settled  by  the  wage-scale  board, 
and  its  decision  shall  be  final. 

There  shall  be  no  stoppage  of  work  because  of  any  dispute  over  piece  prices,  but 
the  matter  shall  be  adjusted  in  the  manner  herein  provided,  and  when  the  prices  are 
fixed  they  shall  relate  back  to  the  time  of  the  beginning  of  the  work. 

XI.    INDIVIDUAL   CONTRACTS    WITH    EMPLOYERS. 

The  union  recognizes  the  moral  obligation  of  every  employer  in  the  industry  to 
belong  to  the  manufacturers'  association  and  to  contribute  to  the  expense  of  the  insti- 
tutions created  by  the  two  parties  for  the  uplift  of  the  industry.  It  acknowledges 
the  value  of  such  an  association  in  the  maintenance  of  standards  throughout  the  indus- 
try. Accordingly,  all  employers  desiring  to  settle  with  the  union  in  the  pending 
strike  will  be  referred  first  to  the  association  and  requested  to  apply  for  membership. 
If  for  any  reason  the  association  rejects  their  application,  the  grounds  for  such  rejection 
shall  be  stated  to  a  committee  on  review,  consisting  of  six  members — three  nominated 
by  the  union  and  three  by  the  manufacturers.  If  any  employer  in  the  industry  shall 
fail  to  join  the  association  and  shall  enter  into  an  individual  contract  with  the  union, 
there  shall  be  no  difference  in  maximum  standards  of  hours,  or  minimum  standards 
of  wages,  or  sanitary  conditions  (except  that  the  period  within  which  changes  to  con- 


302  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUKEAU   OF   LABOB   STATISTICS. 

form  to  sanitary  standards  shall  be  made  shall  be  fixed  by  the  joint  board  of  sanitary 
control) . 

The  union  agrees  to  lay  before  said  committee  on  review  every  original  contract 
entered  into  between  it  and  individual  employers,  together  with  a  true  statement  of 
the  nature  and  amount  of  any  security  taken  for  the  faithful  performance  of  such 
contract. 

During  the  general  strike  the  association  will  remain  in  executive  session  to  pass 
upon  applications  for  membership. 

XII.    EQUALIZATION    OF   STANDARDS. 

Whether  or  not  specifically  referred  to  in  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  protocol,  the 
parties  agree  that  it  is  essential  that  competition  in  the  industry,  so  far  as  labor  is 
concerned,  shall  be  placed  upon  a  plane  of  equality  (making  due  allowance  for  differ- 
ence in  skill),  and  that  both  parties  to  the  full  extent  of  their  power  shall  establish 
such  equality. 

XIII.    THE    PREFERENTIAL   UNION    SHOP. 

The  parties  hereby  accept  the  principles  and  the  obligations  of  the  "  preferential 
union  shop  "  as  defined  and  understood  in  the  cloak  industry,  and  more  fully  described 
under  that  heading  at  pages  215-217  of  Bulletin  No.  98  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of 
Labor. 

XIV.    IMMEDIATE    PROBLEMS    FOR   ARBITRATION. 

The  question  of  which  legal  holidays  shall  be  observed  in  the  industry  shall  be 
submitted  to  the  board  of  arbitration  created  under  this  protocol,  and,  without  preju- 
dice to  the  merits  of  the  question,  Lincoln's  Birthday  and  Washington's  Birthday, 
1913,  shall  be  observed,  unless  the  decision  of  the  board  is  rendered  prior  thereto. 

XV.  SUBCONTRACTING. 

All  inside  subcontracting  shall  be  abolished. 

XVI.  MISCELLANEOUS. 

The  provisions  of  Paragraph  XIX  of  the  protocol  in  the  cloak  industry,  with 
reference  to  filling  vacancies  in  boards  or  committees,  shall  apply  hereto,  and,  so  far 
as  applicable  to  the  dress  and  waist  industry,  the  precedents,  usages,  and  rules  of 
procedure  already  established  and  existing  in  the  cloak  industry  shall  be  followed. 

The  minutes  of  the  proceedings  of  the  conferences  resulting  in  the  acceptance  of 
this  protocol  shall  govern  all  matters  not  specifically  referred  to  herein. 

In  witness  whereof,  the  parties  have  hereto  set  their  hands  and  seals,  and  authorized 
their  respective  officers  to  affix  the  signature  of  the  respective  organizations  hereto. 
For  the  Dress  and  Waist  Manufacturers'  Association: 

SAM'L  FLOERSHEIMER,  President. 
WALTER  H.  BARTHOLOMEW,  General  Manager. 
For  the  International  Ladies'  Garment  Workers'  Union : 

ABRAHAM  ROSENBERG,  President. 
JOHN  A.  DYCHE,  Secretary. 

The  American  Federation  of  Labor  will  stand  back  of  the  International  Ladies' 
Garment  Workers'  Union  in  the  faithful  performance  of  the  foregoing  protocol. 

SAMUEL  GOMPERS, 
President  American  Federation  of  Labor. 

HUGH  FRAYNE, 

General  Organizer  American  Federation  of  Lal> -:r. 
In  the  presence  of — 

JULIUS  HENRY  COHEN. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN   DRESS   AND   WAIST   INDUSTRY.    303 

SCHEDULE  "A." 
(Tentative;  pending  final  decision  by  the  grievance  board  or  board  of  arbitration.) 

HOURS    OP   LABOR. 

Fifty  hours  shall  constitute  a  week's  work.  After  there  shall  have  been  in  operation 
for  one  year  the  system  of  certificating  garments  referred  to  in  the  annexed  protocol  the 
hours  of  labor  shall  be  reduced  to  49  hours  per  week,  provided  the  other  branches  in 
the  women's  wear  industry  then  under  union  agreement  shall  also  have  agreed  to  a 
standard  of  49  hours  per  week. 

WEEK    WORKERS. 

CUTTERS: 

Full-fledged  cutters  shall  receive  not  less  than  $25  per  week. 
Apprentices  shall  be  divided  into  three  grades — 

Grade  A:  Apprentices  of  less  than  one  year's  standing. 

Grade  B :  Apprentices  of  more  than  one  year's  and  less  than  two  years'  stand- 
ing. 
Grade  C:  Apprentices  of  more  than  two  years'  and  less  than  three  years' 

standing. 

Apprentices  shall  receive: 
Grade  A:  $6  per  week. 
Grade  B:  $12  per  week. 
Grade  C:  $18  per  week. 

On  or  about  the  15th  days  of  June  and  November  in  each  year  Local  No.  10  shall  hold 
an  examination  for  the  purpose  of  admitting  apprentices  of  grade  C  to  the  class  of 
full-fledged  cutters. 

After  January  1,  1914,  the  following  rule  shall  be  adopted:  In  each  shop  there  shall 
be  not  more  than  one  apprentice  for  each  five  cutters  employed,  but  in  case  there  shall 
be  less  than  five  cutters  employed  one  apprentice  may  be  employed. 

At  least  one  cutter  shall  be  employed  in  each  shop  of  members  of  the  association. 
DRAPERS:  Not  less  than  $14  per  week. 
JOINERS:  Not  less  than  $12  per  week. 
EXAMINERS:  Not  less  than  $10  per  week. 
SAMPLE  HANDS: 

Not  less  than  $14  per  week; 

Not  more  than  one  assistant  to  each  four  sample  hands. 
IRONERS: 

Women  not  less  than  $12  per  week; 

Men  not  less  than  $15  per  week. 

An  increase  of  a  dollar  per  week  in  the  minimum  scale  after  the  agreement  shall 

have  been  in  force  for  one  year. 
PRESSERS: 

Not  less  than  $20  per  week. 

An  increase  of  $2  per  week  in  the  minimum  scale  after  the  agreement  shall  have 

been  in  force  for  one  year. 

DRESSMAKER  FINISHERS:  Not  less  than  $8  per  week. 
PLAIN  FINISHERS: 

Sewing  hooks  and  eyes,  four  for  1  cent. 

Sewing  patent  hooks  and  eyes,  four  for  1  cent. 

Sewing  ordinary  buttons,  six  for  1  cent. 

Sewing  self-shank  buttons,  three  for  1  cent. 

Sewing  belts,  two  for  1  cent. 

Basting  bottom  of  skirts,  2  cents  each. 

Sewing  in  belts,  2  cents  each. 

But  in  no  case  less  than  $8  per  week  for  50  hours'  work,  after  one  week's  trial. 


304  BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU    OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 

LACE     RUNNERS — TUCKERS —BUTTONHOLE     MAKERS — BUTTON     SEWING — SLEEVE 
SETTING— CLOSING  AND  HEMMING: 

Pending  investigation  by  the  wage-scale  board  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
standards  for  lac«  running,  buttonhole  making,  button  sewing,  sleeve  setting, 
closing  and  hemming,  and  tucking,  shall  be  settled  as  to  prices  in  each  shop 
by  the  piece-price  committee  and  the  employer,  and  in  the  event  of  controversy, 
the  matter  shall  be  settled  by  the  wage-scale  board  in  the  manner  provided  for 
in  the  protocol  for  operators. 
OPERATORS: 

Operators  shall  be  paid  by  the  piece  the  standard  price  per  hour  to  be  fixed  after 
the  investigation  by  the  wage-scale  board  within  six  months,  and  in  the  mean- 
time there  shall  be  the  percentages  of  increase  referred  to  in  Paragraph  X. 

OVERTIME. 

Not  more  than  four  (4)  hours  in  any  one  week,  nor  two  (2)  hours  in  any  one  day, 
except  for  cutters,  who  are  allowed  to  work  overtime  not  more  than  two  and  one-half  (2|) 
hours  in  any  one  day.  No  overtime  between  Saturday  at  1  p.  m.  and  Monday  at  8 
a.  m.,  except  on  specials  requiring  completion  by  finishers  or  pressers  for  immediate 
delivery,  and  then  for  not  more  than  two  (2)  hours.  Double  pay  for  overtime  (week 
workers). 

ADDITIONAL   INCREASES. 

An  additional  increase  of  10  per  cent,  approximately,  shall  be  granted  by  the  manu- 
facturers as  soon  as  a  system  of  certificating  garments  to  the  consumer,  referred  to  in 
Paragraph  II  of  the  annexed  protocol,  shall  have  been  in  operation  for  one  year. 


APPENDIX  B. 


LIST   OF  FIRMS  IN  THE   DRESS   AND  WAIST   INDUSTRY   OF  GREATER 
NEW  YORK  COVERED  BY  THIS  REPORT. 

1.  ASSOCIATION  SHOPS. 


Abraham,  Roman  &  Co. 

A.  Adler  &  Co. 

Adler  &  Ast. 

Louis  Adler. 

Advance  Waist  Co. 

Aero  Waist  Co. 

Alco  Waist  &  Dress  House. 

Adolph  Alper. 

Alpern  &  Co. 

American  Suit  &  Dress  Co. 

American  Lady  Waist  Co. 

American  Shirt  Waist  Co. 

Arkin  &  Guild. 

M.  Arluck. 

Sam'l  Aronson. 

Artistic  Waist  Co. 

Artistic  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 

J.  Atkin. 

D.  Basin. 

Bass  &  Silverman. 
Bedford  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 
Beerman  &  Frank. 
M.  B.  Behrman. 
Besthoff  Sonn  Co. 
Robert  Bernhard. 
Bijou  Waist  Co. 
M.  Block  &  Co. 
Bloom  &  Millman. 
Emil  Blumenthal. 
Blumenthal  &  Co. 
M.  Brambir. 
Brill- Abrams  Co. 
Brill  &  Kaplan  Co. 
S.  Brookstone  &  Sons. 
Lane  Bryant. 
Buchwald  &  Polak. 

E.  Cashman  Costume  Co.  (Inc.). 
Cederbaum  &  Wassow. 
Century  Dress  Co. 

Citron  Bros. 

Daniel  Cohen. 

Henry  Cohen  &  Co. 

H.  Cohen  &  Co. 

J.  &  M.  Cohn. 

Costuma  &  Zimetbaum. 

Crans,  Shane  &  Scherr. 

Crescent  Costume  Co. 

Dallet  &  Weyl. 

Danziger  &  Sanville. 

Davis  &  Ginsberg. 

Casper  Davis  &  Son. 

Ben.  S.  Deutsch. 

Dicker  &  Ginsberg. 

A.  W.  Drubin  &  Kantrowitz  Co. 

The  Drubin  Co. 

Eclipse  Silk  Waist  Co. 

Mar  Edison. 

J.  4  S.  Elisberg. 

42132°— Bull.  146—14 20 


Embroidered  Garment  Co. 
Empire  Waist  Co. 
Ess  Kay  Waist  Co. 

A.  &  H.  Evalenko. 
Excel  Mfg.  Co. 
Famous  Waist  Co. 
Fashion  Garment  Co. 
Leo  Feinberg. 
Feldman  Bros. 
Wm.  Fels  (Inc.). 
Felsenthal  Bros. 
Fernbach  &  Schulman. 
Feinman  Bros. 

Leo  Finkenberg. 

Flan  &  Rosner. 

Sam'l  Floersheimer  &  Bros. 

The  Floersheimer  Co. 

B.  Frank. 

B.  N.  Frank. 

Frank  Bros.  &  Barsha. 

Frank  &  Bauer. 

Frankenthal  Bros. 

Frechtel  Bros. 

J.  L.  Friedman. 

Freitag  &  Keim. 

John  Fried. 

Friedman  &  Mally. 

Jonas  Fuld. 

Gaiety  Waist  Co. 

B.  Geist  &  Co. 

Henry  George  &  Rosenbaum  Co. 

Ginsberg  Bros. 

J.  Glockner  &  Co. 

J.  W.  Goetz. 

J.  Goldberg. 

Goldman  Costume  Co. 

Goldschmidt  &  Co. 

Henry  Goldstein  &  Co-. 

Nathan  Goldstein  &  Co. 

M.  &  E.  Goodman. 

I.  Goodstein. 

Gotham  Waist  Co. 

Grauer  &  Avedon. 

Max  Greenberg  &  Co. 

Greenberg,  Weiner  &  Co. 

Greenwald,  Friedman  &  Co. 

Sol.  Gross  &  Co. 

Gross  &  Weiss. 

Sam'l  Grossman. 

Albert  Harris. 

Benjamin  Height. 

Geo.  C.  Heimerdinger  Co. 

Max  Held  (Inc.). 

I.  Heller  &  Co. 

H.  Himmelstein. 

Hirsch  &  Cohen. 

Hirsch-Cohen-Wise  Co. 

Hirschberg  &  Kohn. 


305 


306 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   LABOR   STATISTICS. 


Hollow  &  Perlow. 

Holtzman  &  Weinstein. 

Hommel  Manufacturing  Co. 

Hopf  &  Daxon. 

Horwitz  &  Horwitz. 

Howard  &  Dennis  (Inc.). 

Howard  Ladies'  Apparel  Manufacturing 

Co. 

I.  B.  HymanCo.  (Inc.). 
Ideal  Rose  Waist  Co. 
Chas.  Iger  &  Bros. 
Immergut  &  Drucker. 
Imperial  Dress  Co. 

Integrity  Garment  Manufacturing  Co. 
International  Manufacturing  Co. 
Iris  Waist  Co. 
Joel  Isaacs  &  Sons. 
I.  X.  L.  Waist  Co. 
E.  A.  Jackson. 
Nathan  H.  Jacobson  &  Co. 
H.  Jacoby  &  Co. 
Jaffy  &  Barnett. 
Kabat  Bros. 
Kohn,  Weiss  &  Feig. 
J.  Kaplon. 
Max  Kass. 
Kastner  &  Lewison. 
Kaufman  Costume  Co. 
Kaufman,  Gladstone  &  Co. 
Kayanee  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 
King,  Davidson  &  Co. 
Klein  Bros. 
Klubock  &  Silverberg. 
Regina  Kobler. 
Kondell  Bros. 
Krugman  &  Peltz 
Kupfer  Bros.  Co. 
Kurzrok  Bros. 
Lahm  &  Deutz. 
La  Rose  Waist  Co. 
Lask  Manufacturing  Co. 
Lowell  Dress  Co. 
Lef court  &  Brenner. 
I.  Lefkowitz. 
Leibowitz  Bros. 
Louis  Leiserson. 
Lenox  Dress  Manufacturing  Co. 
Nathan  Lepow  &  Son. 
Lesser- Kalb  Manufacturing  Co. 
Levine  &  Marcus  Co. 
M.  Levy. 

Graber,  Lipshitz  &  Adelson. 
I.  Lipshitz. 
Li  twin  &  Diamond. 
Maisner  &  Co. 
Majestic  Dress  Co. 
Larry  J.  Margulies. 
Markowitz  Waist  Co. 
Mayer  &  Ikelheimer. 
Mayfair  Waist  Co. 
Melman  Bros. 
A.  B.  Mergentheim  &  Co. 
Meyer  Bros. 

Mitchell,  Bloch  &  Kronenberg. 
Mikola  &  Bro. 
Mitchell  &  Weber. 
Mitnick  &  Canaan. 
Model  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 


Monarch  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 

Geo.  H.  Montrose  &  Co. 

Jos.  A.  Morris  &  Co. 

Murphy  Waist  House. 

Mutual  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 

M.  I.  Nathan  (Inc.). 

National  Dress  Co. 

National  Shirt  Waist  Co. 

Newport  Waist  Co. 

J.  Opoznauer  &  Co. 

Oriental  Shirt  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 

Paramount  Manufacturing  Co. 

Parisian  Dress  Co. 

Parisian  Manufacturing  Co. 

H.  J.  Pasternak. 

Perlman  Bros. 

M.  Perlman. 

Phoenix  Waist, Co. 

G.  M.  Piermpnt  &  Co. 

Pioneer  Ladies'  Garment  Co. 

Princess  Shirt  Waist  Co. 

Princess  Waist  Co. 

Propp  &  Gerrick. 

Queen  Manufacturing  Co. 

Rabinowitz  Bros. 

M.  Rabinowitz. 

S.-Rakusin  &  Co. 

Rapp-Jelenko  Co. 

Regent  Waist  Co. 

Reliance  Waist  Co. 

M.  &  H.  Rentner. 

Rosen  Bros. 

Joseph  Rosenberg. 

Rosenmeyer  &  Diamond. 

Rosenthal  Bros.  Co. 

Sig.  Rosenthal. 

B.  Rosen wasser  &  Co. 

Ph.  Rosen  wasser. 

Milius  Rothfeld  &  Co. 

Rothstein  &  Rothstein. 

Royal  Dress  Co. 

Sachs  &  Freed. 

Sansome  &  Gotlieb. 

Shlang&Co. 

Schleif  &  Greenberg. 

Schmidt,  Raymond  &  Co. 

B.  Schenfeld. 

Schulman  &  Isaacs. 

David  Schustack  &  Co. 

Seeligman  &  Stern. 

G.  &B.  Seid&Co. 

Sachs  &  Kessler. 

Senner  &  Kaplan. 

Shan  ley  Dress  Co. 

M.  Sobel. 

Sherr  Bros. 

Shulsky  Bros. 

Siegel-Foster-Adair  Co. 

A.  Schwartz  &  Co. 

M.  Schwartz. 

Siegel-Foster  Co. 

Siegel  &  Solomon. 

Chas.  F.  Siemons. 

Silverman  &  Becker. 

S.  Simon  &  Co. 

Siren  Manufacturing  Co. 

I.  B.  Skudowitz. 

Smith  &  Meyer. 


WAGES   AND   EMPLOYMENT   IN    DEESS   AND    WAIST    INDUSTRY.    307 


Solomon,  Benedikt  &  Co. 

Solomon  &  Meltzer. 

Son  &  Ash. 

Arthur  H.  Spiro. 

Spiegelman  &  Gottlieb. 

Star  Dress  Manufacturing  Co. 

David  Stein. 

Stein  &  Perlman. 
;     Alfred  Stern  Co. 
'    Stemgold  &  Brill. 

M.  Stern  &  Co. 

Stem  &  Frances. 

H.  Stern  berg. 

Superior  Waist  Co. 

Tiptop  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 

Triangle  Waist  Co. 

Tutelman  Bros. 

David  Ullman. 

Universal  Waist  Co. 

Venus  Costume  Co. 

Waldorf  Waist  Co. 

Wallach  Bros.- 

Aaron  Webster. 

Martin  H.  Weil  &  Co. 

Weil  &  Hoey. 

Weiler  Bros. 

Arthur  M.  Weiner. 

Sam'l  Weintraub. 

Jos.  Weisman. 

M.  Weisman  &  Sons. 

Jos.  Wien. 

Wiesen  &  Goldstein. 

Windsor  Manufacturing  Co. 

E.  D.  Winter  &  Co. 
!    H.  Wolpert  &  Co. 

Jesse  Woolf  &  Otto  B.  Shulhof. 

Yankee  Waist  Co. 

Yorkville  Dress  Co. 

2.  NONASSOCIATION  UNION  SHOPS. 

A.  D.  Abrahams  Co. 
Alsfrom  Bros.  &  Gottfried. 
Alton  Dress  House. 
American  Beauty  Waist  Co. 
American  Waist  &  Garment  Co. 
Arlington  Dress  Co.- 

Chas.  Ashendorf. 

B.  B.  Manufacturing  Co. 

A.  Bandersky. 

The  Bell  Dress  House. 
Beverman  &  Freidman. 
Berger  &  Koeppel. 
Black  &  Silverman. 
Bomzer  &  Freedman. 
Belmont  Waist  Co. 
D.  Bendersky. 
Benwit  Costume  Co. 
Berkly  Dress  Co. 
J.  Berman. 
L.  Berman  &  Co. 
Boston  Dress  Co. 
Brenner  Bros. 
Brown  &  Ginsburg. 
Bull  Moose  Dress^Co. 
Bull  Moose  Tucking  Co. 
Mezer  Canter. 

B.  R.  Casale. 


Clever  Waist  Co. 

H.  Cohen. 

Cohen  Bros. 

L.  Cohen. 

Cohen  &  Ginsburg. 

Cohen  &  Levinson. 

Claremont  Waist  Co. 

Columbia  Waist  Co. 

Cosmopolitan  Dress  Co. 

Countess  Dress  Co. 

Crescent  Waist  Co. 

L.  Corin. 

Jos.  Damoras. 

Diamond-Hammer . 

I.  Dicker. 

Dolowitz  Tea  Gown. 

Drachlis  &  Spivack. 

Ehronson  &  Deutch. 

Electra  Dress  Co. 

Ellis,  Solomon  &  Co. 

H.  Ensler. 

A.  Epstein. 

Eureka  Waist  Co. 

Everight  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 

Excellent  Manufacturing  Co. 

Fair  Waist  Co. 

Favorite  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 

H.  Feldstein. 

Field  &  Samuel. 

L.  Finkelstein. 

Chas.  J.  Fishel. 

Frances  Manufacturing  Co. 

Frankel  Coat  &  Dress  Co. 

French  Dress  Co. 

Woolfe  Futeransky  &  Sons. 

Giant  Waist  Co. 

M.  Ginsberg. 

Ginsberg  &  Rosen. 

Glassburg  &  Milnick. 

Globe  Dress  &  Suit  Co. 

Gabbe,  Block  &  Co. 

Gold  Bros. 

L.  Goldberg. 

Goldberg  &  Sonim. 

J.  Goldstein^ 

Jacob  Gold  wine. 

Good  Wear  Dress  Co. 

L.  Goodman. 

Gottfried  &  Schwartz. 

Greenberg  &  Ugilow. 

Greenwald  &  Fegelman. 

Gross  Bros. 

Groshberg  &  Felstein. 

Guaranty  Dress  Co. 

Halper  &  Freidman. 

Max  S.  Halpern. 

M.  Halpern. 

Halpern  Bros. 

Heimler  Bros. 

Abraham  Hamrnar. 

Adolph  Hays  &  Co. 

Hecht,  Lerner  &  Rosenbaum. 

Herald  Dress  &  Waist  Co. 

Herzenstein  Bros. 

Hilf  Costume  Co. 

Hirst  &  Miller. 

Hirshkowitz  &  Rubenstein. 

Hirshner  &  Schwartz. 


308 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    LABOR    STATISTICS. 


Harry  Hodas. 
L.  Hoffer. 
Hornick  &  Weiss. 
Ideal  Tucking  Co. 
Independent  Garment  Co. 
M.  Ingerman  &  Co. 
Ipp  &  Kwint. 
J.  R.  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 
Geo.  Jacobson. 
Juffet  &  Co. 
Justright  Waist  Co. 
Eastern  Waist  Co. 

D.  Kaplan. 
S.  Karp. 

Kean,  Jones  &  Co. 

Kaslin  &  Co. 

A.  Kitzer. 

Klein  &  Schlecher  Waist  Co. 

Klein  &  Ungar. 

Harry  Kottler. 

Kram  &  Match. 

S.  Keehn  &  Co. 

Ladin  Bros. 

Landau  &  Solan. 

Lang  &  Lang. 

Laxer  Bros. 

Laxer  &  Sandberg. 

Lehman  &  Spector. 

Leighter  Bros. 

Lemchick  &  Co. 

M.  Leonard. 

H.  Lepow. 

E.  Lerner. 
Levine  Bros. 
Levine  &  Harris. 
Levine  &  Katz. 
Levine  &  Keller. 
Lichtman  Waist  Co. 
Levy  Bros. 

Long  Island  Waist  Co. 

Lucerne  Waist  Co. 

Manhattan  Tucking  Co. 

Harry  Hanson. 

Mermaid  Waist  Co. 

Metropolis  Waist  Co. 

Metropolitan  Dress  Co. 

Henry  J.  Meyers. 

Miller  Shirt  Waist  Co. 

Jos.  Mirsky. 

Modern  Dress  Co. 

Mitnick. 

Chessen  &  Zeitlin. 

Moskowitz  &  Priest. 

Mutual  Waist  Co. 

McLane,  Karll  &  Levy  Co. 

Nathans  &  Nathans. 

Nelson,  Burstein  &  Gussow. 

Niagara  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 

Morris  Nikola. 

M.  Nomas. 

N.  Y.  Middy  Blouse  Co. 

Olympic  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 

Onica  Dress  Co. 

Original  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 

Pacific  Waist  Co. 

Sam'l  Pacs. 

Peerless  Dress  &  Costume  Co. 

Peral  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 


Phreno  Dress  &  Waist  Co. 

Paragon  Dress  Co. 

Louis  Pasachow. 

Paskin. 

Piccadilly  Waist  Co. 

Filler  Bros. 

Plaza  Waist  &  Dress  Co. 

Benj.  Pollick. 

Popular  Manufacturing  Co. 

S.  Posner. 

Queensboro  Waist  Co. 

Regal  Waist  Co. 

A.  Rappaport  &  Co. 

Ray  Waist  &  Dress  House. 

Rhinrock. 

Rosenberg  Tucking  Co. 

Robins  Dress  Co. 

Roman  &  Bloom. 

Rosebud  Mfg.  Co. 

Roth  &  Brodsky. 

Rothrosen  Bros. 

Royal  Dress  Co. 

L.  Salesky. 

Selsky  Bros. 

Savoy  Waist  Co. 

Schlessel  &  Wilner. 

J.  Schlesinger  &  Co. 

Phillip  Schwartz. 

Schwartz  Bros. 

Schwartz  &  Jiengman. 

J.  Schapiro. 

Schapiro  &  Co. 

Louis  Schapiro. 

Shapiro,  Rothman  &  Co. 

Silverman  &  Slavitz. 

I.  Simpson. 

Solomon  &  Steiner. 

Sorin  &  Rappaport. 

W.  Simon. 

Solomon  &  Silverstein. 

Speigelman  &  Michelson. 

Stanley  Dress  Co. 

I.  Stegman. 

Standard  Dress  Co. 

H.  Steinberg. 

Stelson  &  Co. 

I.  Steinberg  &  Co. 

J.  Stein. 

Stern  &  Cohen. 

Stone  Bros. 

Samuel  Striefer. 

Sun  Dress  Co. 

Supreme  Waist  Co. 

Surprise  Dress  Co. 

M.  Sussman. 

M.  Treuhold. 

Victoria  Waist  Co. 

Wechsler  Bros. 

Weinberg  Bros. 

Nathan  Weinberg. 

Weinberg  &  Weinman. 

Welfare  Waist  Co. 

Well  Designed  Waist  Co. 

Weisenthal  Tucking  Co. 

H.  Wolf. 

M.  Zeffer  &  Cross. 

Zigler  Bros. 


INDEX. 

Page 
Apprentices,  registration  of 183 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops: 

Employees  in,  making  low-grade  and  high-grade  garments,  number  and  per  cent  of 24, 25 

Employees  in,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  occupations -. 26 

Employees  in  260  shops,  number  of,  each  week,  1912 ',        153 

Firms,  list  of,  covered  by  present  report 305—308 

Males'  and  females,  number  and  per  cent  of,  employed  in,  by  oocupatiom 27-30 

Shops  employing  each  classified  number  of  employees,  number  and  per  cent  of 23 

Union  shops  of  each  class,  comparison  of 22-26 

Wages,  amount  of,  paid  by,  each  week,  1912 159 

Assorters: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in.  by  sex 27-29 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of ,  by  sex 31-33, 36, 37 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 105 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 104, 105 

Basis  for  piece-rate  compensation.    (See  Piece-rate  compensation.) 

Body  makers,  sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149, 150, 153-156 

Body  making,  basis  of  piece-rate  compensation 249-284 

Centers 267-270 

Hemming  edge*  of  "little  skirts"  and  joining  parts  of  "little  skirts" 265 

Joining  belts  to  waists 282-284 

Joining  lace  to  standing  collars 259, 260 

Joining  "little  skirts "  to  waists 260-266 

Joining  "little  skirts"  to  waists  by  a  closer 266 

Joining  parts  of  back  with  French  seam,  forming  tuck  at  same  time 257, 258 

Joining  parts  of  shoulders  with  lace  beading  between 251, 252 

Joining  sidepieces  to  fronts 258 

Joining  yoke  beading  to  backs 254 

Joining  yoke  sleeves  to  fronts  or  backs  with  beading  between 256, 257 

Joining  yokes  to  fronts  or  backs  with  insertions 252, 253 

Joining  yokes  with  lace  beading  to  open  fronts  or  backs,  with  a  shirred  seam 255, 256 

Loss  of  time 285-288 

Ruffles  and  centers 271-273 

Setting  high  collars. . .  279, 280 

Shirring : 278, 279 

Sleeve  setting  by  body  makers 280-282 

Tacking  fronts  and  backs 276, 277 

Vests  and  flies 273-275 

Buttonhole  makers: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-30 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33, 36-38 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149, 150, 153-155 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  receiving  each  classified  amount  of *. 70 

Work  sex,  and  wages  of , 68-70 

Buttonhole  making,  basis  for  piece-rate  compensation 233-244 

Loss  of  time  in  operations 288, 289 

Reece  machine 239,243,244 

Singer  machine 233-238, 240-243 

Button  sewers: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-29 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33, 36-38 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  amount  of 71 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 70, 71 

Button  sewing,  basis  of  piece-rate  compensation 244-249 

Button  sewing,  loss  of  time  in  operations 289 

Cleaners: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-29 

Persons  employed  as,  number  and  per  cent  of,  in  entire  industry 22 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33^36-38 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149, 150, 153-155 

Wages,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 108, 109 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 106-109 

Closers  and  hemmers: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in —  26-29 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33, 36-38 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149,150, 153-155 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  amount  of 78 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 71-73 

Closing,  basis  of  piece-rate  compensation 226-230 

Closing,  loss  of  time  in  operations  of ;«  ?5 

Contracting  and  partnerships - 14o-lo7 

309 


310  INDEX. 

Cutters:  Page. 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-29 

Hours  per  week,  number  and  per  cent  working  each  classified  number  of,  during  busiest  week 

in  the  year 17 

Persons  employed  as,  number  and  per  cent  of,  in  entire  industry 22 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33, 36-38 

Wages,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 114, 115 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 109-115 

Drapers: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-29 

Persons  employed  as,  number  and  per  cent  of,  in  entire  industry 22 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31, 32, 36, 38 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149, 150, 153-155 

Wages,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 120 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 115-120 

Dressmakers: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-29 

Pieceworkers'and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31, 32, 36 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149, 150, 153-156 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  amount  of 75 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 73-75 

Earnings  or  wages: 

Pieceworkers 16 

Week  workers,  not  provided  for  in  the  protocol 15,16 

Week  workers,  provided  for  in  the  protocol 12-15 

Earnings.    (See  also  Wages  or  earnings,  employees  receiving  each  classified  amount  of.) 

Embroiderers: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 27, 28 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31, 32, 36,38 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149, 150, 153-156 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  amount  of 123 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 120-123 

Employees  and  shops  covered  by  present  report 20-22 

Employees  and  wages,  seasonal  rise  and  fall * 162-172 

Employees  other  than  operators,  work,  sex,  and  wages  of 104-145 

Assorters 104, 105 

Cleaners 106-109 

Cutters i 109-115 

Drapers 115-120 

Embroiderers 120-123 

Examiners 123-126 

Finishers 126-132 

Ironers  and  pressers 132-141 

Joiners 141-143 

Markers 143, 144 

Slopers 145 

Employment  among  week  workers  and  pieceworkers 172-176 

Employment  and  wages,  fluctuations  in,  in  1912 160-172 

Employment,  regularity  of ' 18, 19, 157-176 

Examiners: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  of 26-29 

Persons  employed  as,  number  and  per  cent  of,  in  entire  industr y 22 

'  Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33, 36-38 

Wages,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 125, 126 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of : 123-126 

Finishers: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-29 

Persons  employed  as,  number  and  per  cent  of ,  in  entire  industry 22 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33, 36-38 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149, 150, 15e 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  amount  of 13, 131, 132 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 126-132 

Firms,  list  of,  covered  by  present  report 305-308 

Fluctuations  in  wages  and  employment,  in  1912 160, 167, 168, 173, 174 

Hemmers  and  closers.    (See  Closers  and  hemmers.) 

Hemming,  basis  of  piece -rate  compensation 222-225 

Hemstitchers: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-29 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31,32,36,38 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  amount  of _  77 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 75-77 

Hours  of  labor: 

During  busiest  week  in  the  year 176, 177 

Effect  of  protocol  en 16-18 

Overtime 177-180 

Pieceworkers ISO,  ISL 

Week  workers 178,17'J 

Ironers  and  pressers : 

Association  and  nonasscciation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-21 

Persons  employed  as,  number  and  per  cent  of,  in  entire  industry.  / 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33,_36-38 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149, 150, 153-156 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  amount  of 13, 13S-1 1 1 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 132-141 


INDEX.  311 

Joiners:  Page. 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-29 

Persons  employed  as,  number  and  per  cent  of,  in  entire  industry 22 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31, 32  36 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149. 150, 153-156 

Wages,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 13, 143 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 141-143 

Label,  white  protocol,  adoption  of 185  186 

Lace  runners: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  emp:oyed  in 26-29 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33, 36-38 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 1 19, 150, 153-156 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  amount  of >.        78 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 77, 78 

Lace  running,  basis  of  piece-rate  compensation 217-222 

Cloth  on  top 218 

Joining  lace  to  lace 218 

Joininglace  to  sleeves 222 

Joining  ru filed  lace  edging  to  lace  insertion 222 

Joining  voile  and  net  strips 222 

Lace  on  top 218 

List  of  firms  covered  by  present  report 305-308 

Loss  of  time  in  operations  of — 

Body  making 285-288 

Buttonhole  making 288, 289 

Button  sewing 289 

Closing 288 

Short  tucking 288 

Sleeve  setting 288 

Strip  hemming 288 

Strip  tucking 288 

Waist  hemming , 288 

Manufacturers,  advantages  to,  of  subcontracting ' 146, 147 

Markers: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 27, 29 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33, 36-38 

Wages,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 144 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 143, 144 

Nonoperators.    (See  Employees  other  than  operators,  work,  sex,  and  wages  of.) 

Occupations,  number  of  workers  in,  specified 26-30 

Occupations  of  operators 43, 44 

Operators  and  nonoperators  employed  in  association  and  nonassaciation    shops,  number  and  per 
cent  of! 26-29 

Operators  and  nonoperators  who  are  pieceworkers  and  weei  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by 
sex 31-33, 36-33 

Operators: 

Buttonhole  makers 68-70 

Button  sewers 70, 71 

Classes  of,  and  number  of,  covered  by  present  report 44 

Closers  and  hemmers 71-73 

Dressmakers 73-75 

Hemstitchers * 75-77 

Lace  runners 77, 78 

Occupations  of 43, 44 

Operators  nbt  specified 99-104 

Operators  not  specified,  sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc..  of 149, 150, 153-156 

Persons  employed  as,  number  and  per  cent  of,  in  entire  industry 22 

Sample  makers 79, 80 

Skirt  operators 80-83 

Sleeve  makers 83-85 

Sleeve  setters 85-87 

Trimmers 87-89 

Tuckers 93-93 

Wages,  comparison  of,  in  1912  and  1913. . : 63-68 

Wages,  comparison  of,  of  men  and  women  operators  in  association  and  nonassociation  shops. .  49-53 
Wages,  comparison  of,  of  men  and  women  operators  in  shops  making  cheap  and  high-grade  gar- 
ments   53-63 

Wages,  comparison  of,  of  men  and  women  operators  in  the  industry  as  a  whole 45-48 

Wages  of 44-68 

Waist  operators 93-99 

Operators,  employees  other  than.    (See  Employees  other  than  operators,  v.ork,  s(x.  and  wages  of.) 

Overtime .' 177-180 

Partnerships  and  contracting 145-157 

Pay  roll,  uniform : 185 

Piece-rate  compensation : 

Adjustment  of,  under  the  protocol 189, 190 

Basis  for 193-197 

Body  making 249-284 

Buttonhole  making 233-244 

Button  sewing 244-249 

Closing 226-230 

Hemming 222-225 

Lace  running 217-222 

Sleeve  setting  by  slesve  setters 230-233 

Standardization  of 189-308 

Tucking 197-216 

Uniform  schedule  of 136, 187 

Piece  work.    (Sec  Week  work  and  piecework.) 


312  INDEX. 

Page. 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  employment  among 172-176 

Pieceworkers,  earnings  of •. 16 

Pieceworkers,  hours  of  work  of 180, 181 

Pressers  and  ir oners.    (See  Ironers  and  pressers.) 

Protocol  of  peace,  in  dress  and  waist  industry,  effect  of,  on — 

Hours  of  work 16-18 

Piece  rates,  adjustment  of 189, 190 

Subcontracting 19 

Wages '. 9-16 

Week  work  and  piecework,  extent  of 36-39 

Protocol  of  peace,  text  of 299-304 

Reece  machine,  buttonhole  making 239,243, 244 

Registration  of  apprentices 183 

Regularity  of  employment • 18, 19, 157-176 

Sample  makers: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-29 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33, 36-38 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149,150,153-156 

Wages,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  rate  of 13, 80, 81 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 79, 80 

Scale  of  weekly  wages,  graduated , 182, 183 

Scope  of  present  inquiry 20-39, 190-193 

Seasonal  rise  and  fall  in  number  of  employees  and  in  wages 162-172 

Sets  or  teams  of  workers: 

Earnings  of 154-157 

Sex  of  workers 152-154 

Size  of 149-152 

Shops  and  employees  covered  by  present  report 20-22 

Short  tucking,  loss  of  time  in  operations  of 288 

Singer  machine,  buttonhole  making 233-238, 240-243 

Skirt  operators: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-29 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31, 32, 36, 38 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of...: 149, 150, 153-156 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  amount  of 83 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 80-83 

Sleeve  makers: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-29 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33, 36-38 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149, 150, 153-156 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  amount  of 85 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 83-85 

Sleeve  setters: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-29 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33, 36-38 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149, 150, 153-156 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  amount  of 87 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 85-87 

Sleeve  setting  by  sleeve  setters,  basis  of  piece-rate  compensation 230-233 

Sleeve  setting,  loss  of  time  in  operations  of 288 

Slopers: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 27-29 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31, 32, 36 

Wages,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  rate  of -. 145 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 145 

Standardization  of  piece  rates 189-308 

Strip  hemming,  loss  of  time  in  operations  of 288 

Strip  tucking,  loss  of  time  in  operations  of 288 

Subcontracting: 

Advantages  of,  to  manufacturers 146, 147 

Decline  of 148 

Disadvantages  of 147, 148 

Effect  of  protocol  on 19 

Partnerships  and .• 145-157 

Teams  or  sets  of  workers: 

Earnings  of 154-157 

Sex 152-154 

Size  of 149-152 

Trade  school 184 

Trimmers: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-2! 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33, 36-38 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149, 150, 153-156 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  amount  of 88, 89 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of ." 87-89 

Tuckers: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-21 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of,  by  sex 31-33, 36-38 

Sets  or  teams  of,  size,  earnings,  etc.,  of 149, 150, 153-1 

Wages  or  earnings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  amount  of 92, 93 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 90-93 


INDEX.  313 

Page. 

Tucking,  basis  of  piece-rate  compensation 197-216 

ChiSon  versus  cotton 201 

Double  tucks '_',  211, 212 

Short  tucking • 206-211 

Short  tucking  on  a  multiple-needle  Singer  machine 213-216 

Singer  1-needle  machine 213 

Singer  4-needle  machine . 205 

Singer  5-needle  machine 205 

Singer  8-needle  machine 206 

Strip  tucking 198-206 

Wilcox  &  Gibbs  machine 208-211 

Union  shops,  list  of  firms  covered  by  present  report 305-308 

Wages  and  regularity  of  employment,  introduction  and  summary 7-19 

Wages  or  earnings: 

Amount  of,  paid  in  260  shops,  each  week  in  1912 159 

Association  aad  nonassociation  shops,  effect  in,  of  protocol  on 9-12 

Assorters 105 

Buttonhole  makers, 69, 70 

Button  sewers 70, 71 

Cleaners 106-109 

Closers  and  hemmers 72, 73 

Cutters ...       .  112-115 

Drapers 117-120 

Dressmakers , 74, 75 

Embroiderers ; 121-123 

Employees,  seasonal  rise  and  fall  in  number  of,  and  in  amount  of 162-172 

Employment  and,  fluctuations  in,  in  1912 160 

Examiners 124-126 

Finishers,  pieceworkers 128. 129, 132 

Finishers,  week  workers , 127, 128, 130, 131 

Hemstitchers 76,77 

Ironers  and  pressers 133-141 

Joiners 142, 143 

Lace  runners 78 

Markers 143, 144 

Method  of  obtaining  wage  data : 33, 40 

Method  of  presentation  of  wage  data 40-43 

Operators  not  specified,  female 99-101, 103 

Operators  not  specified,  male 100, 102, 104 

Operators,  pieceworkers, female 57, 58 

Operators,  pieceworkers,  male 58 

Operators,  pieceworkers,  male  and  female 47, 50, 51 

Operators,  pieceworkers,  male  and  female ,  on  $9-per-dozen  garments 48 

Operators,  week  workers,  female 54 

Operators,  week  workers,  male 55 

Operators,  week  workers,  male  and  female 45, 49 

Operators,  week  workers,  male  and  female,  on  $9-per -dozen  garments 47 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  per  cent  of  women  receiving  $10  per  week  and  over 68 

Sample  makers 79, 80 

Scale  of,  graduated,  weekly , 182, 183 

Skirt  operators 81-83 

Sleeve  makers 84, 85 

Sleeve  setters 86, 87 

Slopers 145 

Trimmers 87-89 

Tuckers 90-93 

Waist  operators 95-99 

Week  workers,  not  provided  for  in  the  protocol 15, 16 

Week  workers,  provided  for  in  the  protocol 12-15 

Waist  hemming,  loss  of  time  in  operations  of 288 

Waist  operators: 

Association  and  nonassociation  shops,  number  and  per  cent  employed  in 26-29 

Pieceworkers  and  week  workers,  number  and  per  cent  of ,  by  sex 31-33, 36-38 

Wages  or  eamings,  number  and  per  cent  receiving  each  classified  amount  of 95-99 

Work,  sex,  and  wages  of 93-99 

Week  work  and  piecework: 

Employees  paid  by,  in  each  of  specified  occupations 30-34 

Extent  of,  prior  to  the  protocol 36-39 

Relative  advantages  of 35, 36 

Relation  of  sex  to 34, 35 

Week  workers  and  pieceworkers,  employment  among 172-176 

O 


VITA. 


The  author  of  this  dissertation,  Nahum  I.  Stone,  was  born  July  29, 
1873,  in  Odessa,  Bussia,  He  was  educated  at  the  Gymnasium  of  Odessa, 
from  which  he  graduated  with  the  Testimonium  Maturitatis  in  1891,  and 
soon  after  came  to  the  United  States. 

From  1893  to  1896  he  studied  at  the  Armour  Institute  of  Technology, 
Chicago,  taking  a  course  in  Electrical  Engineering. 
_^  1896-1899  the  author  took  a  post-graduate  course  at  the  School  of  Political 
Science,  Columbia  University,  with  Political  Economy  as  major  subject,  and 
Sociology  and  History  of  Political  Theories  as  minors.  He  studied  under 
Professors:  Seligman,  Clark,  Mayo-Smith,  Giddings,  Dunning,  Bipley, 
Goodnow,  Livingston-Farrand,  and  was  a  member  of  Prof.  Seligman's 
Seminar  in  Political  Economy  and  Finance,  and  of  Prof.  Mayo-Smith's 
Seminars  in  Economic  Theory  and  Statistics.  In  1900  the  degree  of 
A.  M.  was  conferred  upon  the  author  by  Columbia  University,  his  Master's 
Dissertation,  entitled  "Comparative  Study  of  the  Statistics  of  Agricul- 
ture in  the  Tenth  and  Eleventh  Census,"  appearing  in  the  publications  of 
the  American  Statistical  Association. 

1899-1900  the  author  held  the  position  of  Statistician  of  the  Bureau  of 
Economic  Research,  New  York  City. 

1900  he  was  engaged  in  a  study  of  the  effect  of  speculation  of  prices  of 
wheat  and  cotton  for  the  United  States  Industrial  Commission. 

1900-1901  he  held  the  position  of  editor  of  the  department  of  Cities  and 
Countries  of  the  New  International  Cyclopedia. 

1902-1903  he  was  manager  of  the  New  York  and  New  Jersey  Beal 
Estate  Company,  a  corporation  engaged  in  developing  suburban  properties. 

In  1904  the  author  was  appointed  to  the  position  of  Tariff  Expert  of 
the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  being  the  first  incumbent  of  that 
position,  which  had  for  its-  object  the  study  of  foreign  customs  tariffs. 
His  duties  consisted  in  publishing  from  time  to  time  the  custom  tariff  laws 
of  various  countries,  advising  American  manufacturers  and  exporters  as 
ta  customs  regulations  in  various  countries,  and  in  advising  the  govern- 
ment in  matters  of  foreign  tariff  policies.  He  held  this  position  from 
1904  to  1909,  and  during  this  period  was  assigned  to  foreign  service,  first, 
in  1906,  as  the  Commercial  Attache  of  the  United  States  delegation  to  the 
Pan-American  Conference  at  Bio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil;  later,  on  a  visit  to 
Great  Britain,  Belgium,  Switzerland,  Italy  and  Germany  for  the  study  of 
the  methods  pursued  by  those  countries  in  dealing  with  foreign  tariffs  and 
in  shaping  commercial  policies.  From  November,  1906,  to  February, 
1907,  he  served  as  member  of  the  German- American  Tariff  Commission, 
which  met  in  Berlin  to  negotiate  a  commercial  treaty  between  the  two 
countries. 


In  1909,  upon  the  creation  of  the  Tariff  Board,  the  author  was  ap- 
pointed Chief  Statistician  of  the  Board,  his  duties  consisting  in  planning 
the  investigations  of  the  Board  into  the  cost  of  production  of  various  in- 
dustries, directing  the  field  work,  supervising  the  tabulation  of  the  re- 
turns, and  participating  in  the  preparation  of  the  reports  of  the  Board. 
He  held  this  position  until  the  abolition  of  the  Tariff  Board  in  1912. 

1913-1914  he  held  the  position  of  Chief  Statistician  of  the  Wage  Scale 
Board  of  the  Dress  and  Waist  Industry,  in  which  capacity  he  investigated 
labor  conditions  in  the  industry  and  made  a  study  of  the  technique  of  the 
industry  with  a  view  to  a  standardization  of  piece  rates.  The  results  of 
this  investigation  are  embodied  in  the  present  dissertation. 

Since  last  year  the  author  has  been  practicing  as  statistician  and  con- 
tributing to  various  magazines. 

The  following  is  a  (incomplete)  list  of  his  published  writings: 

1.  Capitalism  on  Trial  in  Eussia.     Political  Science  Quarterly,  1898, 
v.  13,  pp.  91-118. 

2.  Agricultural,   Mineral   and   Manufacturing   Resources   of    Siberia. 
Monthly  Summary  of  Commerce  and  Finance,  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Wash- 
ington, I).  C.,  April,  1899,  pp.  2519-2525. 

3.  Statistics  of  Agriculture  in  the  United  States  Census,  American 
Economic  Association  Publ.,  New  Series,  No.  2,  pp.  204-218.     1899. 

4.  Comparative  Study  of  the  Statistics  of  Agriculture  in  the  Tenth 
and  Eleventh  Census,  American  Statistical  Association  PubL,  v.  6,  pp. 
290-312.     1899. 

5.  Tjrue  Attitude  of  the  Socialists  toward  the  Trade  Unions,  New  York. 
1900.     23  pp. 

6.  Karl  Marx  on  the  Money  Question.     International  Soc.  Reliew,  v. 
1,  1900,  pp.  263-274. 

7.  Speculation  and  Prices  of  Wheat  and  Cotton.     Part  4  of  v.  VI  of 
the  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Industrial  Commission,  Washington,  1909,  pp. 
189-224.     Appendix  B,  pp.  469-493. 

8.  Prices  (Index  Numbers),  1878-1901.     Joint  authorship  with  John 
R.  Commons.     Appendix  III  of  vol.  19  of  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Industrial 
Commission,  pp.  1101-1113.     Washington,  1902. 

9.  Manifesto  of  the  Czar.     Independent,  March  26,  1903,  vol.  55,  pp. 
733-735. 

10.  Political   Conditions  in  Russia.     Review  of  Reviews,   1903,  vol. 
XXVII,  pp.  441-444. 

11.  International  Aspect  of  our  Tariff  Situation.     North  American 
Review,  T.  180,  pp.  381-393,  March,  1905. 

12.  New  German  Customs  Tariff.     North  American  Review,  v.  181, 
pp.  392-406",  September,  1905. 

13.  How  the  Germans  Revised  Their  Tariff.    Review  of  Reviews,  v.  32, 
pp.  719-721,  December,  1905. 

14.  Most  Favored  Nation  Relations  Between  Germany  and  the  United 
States.     North  American  Review,  v.  182,  pp.  433-445,  March,  1906. 

15.  Preferential  Brazilian  Tariff  on  Imports  from  the  United  States. 
Monthly  Consular  and  Trade  Reports,  November,  1906,  pp.  153-158. 

16.  Reduction  of  Brazilian  Duties  on  American  Products.     Dun's  In- 
ternational Review,  November,  1906. 

17.  Double   Tariff   System.     Annals   of  the   American   Academy   of 
Political  and  Social  Science,  v.  29,  pp.  478-497,  May,  1907. 


18.  Promotion  of  Foreign  Commerce  in  Europe  and  the  United  States. 
Published  by  the  Department  of  Commerce,  Washington,  1907,  24  pp. 

19.  Conventional  Tariff  System.     Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of 
Political  and  Social  Science,  vol.  32,  pp.  367-382,  September,  1908. 

20.  The  Payne-Aldrich  Tariff.     Review  of  Reviews,  September,  1909. 

21.  Dual  Tariff  Systems.     Publications  of  the  American  Economic 
Association,  1909,  3d  Series,  v.  10,  pp.  301-313. 

22.  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  United  States  of  America.     Ameri- 
can Economic  Review,  1912,  v.  2,  pp.  776-777. 

23.  Schedule  K.     Century,  v.  86,  pp.  111-119,  May,  1913. 

24.  The  New  Tariff :  A  Retrospect  and  a  Forecast.     Review  of  Reviews, 
v.  48,  pp.  433-439,  October,  1913. 

25.  Tlhe  Underwood-Simmons  Tariff.     Review  of  Reviews,  v.  48,  pp. 
559-566,  November,  1913. 

26.  The  Panama  Canal  and  Our  Plighted  Faith.    Hearings  before  the 
U.  S.  Senate  Committee  on  Interoceanic  Canals,  63d  Congress,  2d  Ses- 
sion, 1914. 

27.  A  National  Employment  Reserve.     Survey,  January  23,  1915. 
Also  in  the  Journal  of  Efficiency  Society,  February,  1915. 

28.  Is  a  Minimum  Wage  a  Menace  to  Industry?     Survey,  February 
6,  1915. 

29.  The  Minimum  Wage  and  Industrial  Efficiency.    In  the  Fourth  Re- 
port of  the  New  York  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission,  v.  1,  1915. 

30.  Shall  the  Majority  Rule?    Century,  May,  1915. 

Several  articles  in  the  New  International  Cyclopedia  (1902  edition), 
International  Year  Book,  and  various  American  and  foreign  magazines. 

REVIEWS. 

Simkhowitsch's  Feldgemeinschaft  in  Russland.  Annals  of  the  Ameri- 
can Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  1899,  v.  14,  pp.  131-133. 

Walling's  Russia's  Message.  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of 
Political  and  Social  Science,  1909,  v.  33,  pp.  220-222. 

Miklashevsky's  Study  of  the  Money  Question.  Political  Science  Quar- 
terly, 1898,  v.  13,  pp.  183-184. 

Higginson's  Tariffs  at  Work.  American  Economic  Review,  1913,  v.  3, 
pp.  681-682. 

PART  AUTHORSHIP. 

Report  of  the  U.  S.  Tariff  Board  on  Pulp  and  News-Print  Paper  Indus- 
try. 1911. 

Report  of  the  U.  S.  Tariff  Board  on  Cotton  Manufactures.     1912. 

TRANSLATOR. 

Marx,  Contribution  to  the  Critique  of  Political  Economy,  International 
Literature  Publishing  Co.,  New  York,  1904,  314  pages.  Second  edition, 
Chas.  H.  Kerr  &  Co.,  Chicago,  1911. 

Collator  and  Editor  of  the  following  issues  of  the  Tariff  Series  of  the 
Bureau  of  Manufactures,  Department  of  Commerce: 

No.  1.     Tariffs  on  Leather  and  its  Manufactures.     27  pp.     1907. 

No.  2.     Tariffs  on  Agricultural  and  Animal  Products.     120  pp.     1907. 


No.  3.  Tariffs  on  Machinery,  Machine  Tools,  and  Vehicles.  75  pp. 
1907. 

No.  5.  Commercial  Agreement  Between  the  United  States  and  Ger- 
many. 24  pp.  1907. 

No.  6.     Customs  Tariff  of  France.     108  pp.     1907. 

No.  6A.  Commercial  Agreement  Between  the  United  States  and 
France.  1908. 

No.  6s.     Proposed  New  Customs  Tariff  of  France.    35  pp.     1909. 

No.  6c.  Commercial  Convention  Between  France  and  Canada.  35 
pp.  1909. 

No.  60.  Abrogation  of  Commercial  Agreement  Between  the  United 
States  and  France.  1909. 

No.  7.     Customs  Tariff  of  the  German  Customs  Union.     1908. 

No.  8.     Customs  Tariff  of  New  Zealand.     36  pp.     1908. 

No.  9.  Customs  Tariff  of  Montserrat,  British  West  Indies.  12  pp. 
1908. 

No.  10.  Customs  Tariff  of  Virgin  Islands,  British  West  Indies.  8  pp. 
1908. 

No.  11.     Customs  Tariff  Act  of  Bermuda,  British  West  Indies.     1907. 

No.  12.     Customs  Tariff  Act  of  Saint  Lucia,  British  West  Indies.    1907. 

No.  13.  Customs  Tariff  Act  of  Turks  and  Caicos  Islands,  Br.  W. 
I.  1908. 

No.  14.     Customs  Tariff  Act  of  Bahamas,  Br.  W.  I.     1908. 

No.  15.     Customs  Tariff  of  Italy.     92  pp.     1908. 

No.  16.     Preferential  Tariff  of  Brazil.     4  pp.     1908. 

No.  17.     Customs  Tariff  of  Australia.     76  pp.     1908. 

No.  18.     Customs  Tariff  of  the  United  Kingdom.     12  pp.     1908. 

No.  19.     Commercial  Travelers  in  Foreign  Countries.     71  pp.     1908. 

No.  20.     Export  Tariffs  of  Foreign  Countries.     48  pp.     1909, 

No.  21.     Foreign  Tariffs  on  Petroleum  Products.     1903. 


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